You Better Run: Volume II
by Crazywriter226
Summary: With the Apocalypse striking upon Sam and Dean's world, the clock is ticking faster for Kate who finally finds out the answers to all of her questions. However, between hard choices and sad losses, the young woman will soon understand that everything comes at a price, and that, sadly, everything ends. Sequel to 'You Better Run: Volume I'. Dean/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Sequel to my first fanfiction ever : ' You Better Run: Volume I'**

 **This story takes place during the fifth season of the TV show ' Supernatural' created by Eric Kripke.**

 **This chapter contains elements from the episode _'Sympathy for the Devil'_ (5x01).**

* * *

The Winchester brothers couldn't find one good explanation to how they found themselves on a plane after almost facing the arrival of the fallen angel that was Lucifer. All they knew was that the Apocalypse was triggered now, and it was their fault. Dean blamed himself for breaking the very first seal and Sam blamed himself for breaking the final seal. Plus, Dean blamed himself for not stopping Sam in time just as much as Sam blamed himself for not listening to his big brother. Needless to say, they felt both extremely guilty and had not one single idea as to how fix their mess, which had also become the biggest mess they had ever made.

After the incident in the plane, Sam and Dean dashed off quickly before the airport's staff started to ask them too many questions about their presence on the flight they weren't supposed to be in. They rented a car in the closest place before immediately heading to Chuck's place. Dean had summarized everything Sam had missed while he was with Ruby. Sam didn't ask much questions as he simply absorbed the few information that his brother was willing to give him.

Aside from that, not a lot of words were exchanged between the two brothers as they were both still not sure what to tell the other. The tension was still very thick between them and even though not saying a word was preventing from thickening this tension more, it wasn't helping in keeping their minds off worrying thoughts. Indeed, they were both drastically worried of the consequences that were to come now that Lucifer was out of his cage. Guilt was eating up Sam in a way that he never thought possible while his brother was filling with other unbearable feelings that he couldn't even explain to himself.

Sam decided to switch on the radio in order to muffle down the heavy silence filling the car. Throwing a glance at his older brother who was driving with what looked like deep concentration, he swallowed and started to change the stations when he realized something.

Every station gave a bad news. From natural disasters to the extension of a serious flu, all the news stations sounded worse than the previous one. Both of the brothers knew what it meant, but none of them dared saying it out loud. It was too hard to say that their actions had become the catalyst that would end the world.

Annoyed by the news that only made him feel even worse, Sam switched off the radio. When silence settled back inside the car, the younger Winchester understood that he couldn't bear it. He had to make it up with his brother, and even if he didn't know how to exactly, he still knew he had to try.

Letting out a long sigh, Sam started, "Dean, look-"

"Don't say anything," Dean stopped him as Sam turned his head to look at him. "It's okay," Dean glanced at him before returning his eyes to the road. "We just gotta keep our heads down and hash this out, alright?"

Sam wasn't expecting this reaction from his older brother and he was sure that Dean was just holding it all back. However, the younger man managed to crack out his reply in a little voice as his green-hazel eyes went back to look at the road, "Yeah, okay."

"Alright, well, first things first—How did we end up on the Soul Plane?" Dean asked making sure to avoid having to listen to Sam's apologies about choosing a demon over him.

"Angels, maybe?" Sam suggested with a light shrug of his broad shoulders, "I mean, you know, beaming us out of harm's way?"

"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries," Dean sighed, knowing far well it couldn't be angels. Not after what happened with Zachariah earlier in the so-called Green-Room. "We need to find Cas and Kate."

"Is she… Is she okay?" Sam asked, his tone almost shy and uncomfortable as the memory of what he did to her the last time didn't seem to leave him alone.

"The last time I saw her, she was ready to fight against whatever angels were coming down to Chuck's place," Dean replied sounding almost emotionless.

"So, this is true, then? The angels really wanted the Apocalypse to happen?" Sam said, thinking about what Dean told him earlier.

"All true," Dean sighed, his eyes never leaving the road. "According to Cas, they wanted to use her as a substitute."

"A substitute?" Sam asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Don't ask me. We didn't have enough time for him to tell me more," Dean replied, throwing a glance at Sam.

"You think it got something to do with her soul?"

"I dunno… Maybe," Dean just said as Sam glanced at him.

Sam couldn't read the emotion written on his brother's face, but he could say that Dean was deeply worried. Not just about the Apocalypse, but about what happened to the young woman they were supposed to protect.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **Saint Paul, Minnesota. At Chuck Shurley's.**_

Dawn had just appeared and the birds just started singing when Sam and Dean parked their rented car in front of the Prophet's house after hours of driving. They immediately made their way into the house, not bothering to knock. Walking into the quiet living room and the kitchen, the two brothers found the house in a messier state than usual. The kitchen table on which Chuck typed his manuscripts was completely turned over, chairs were thrown on the floor along with a couple of destroyed lamps. A hundred of papers and few books were scattered on the floor, surrounded by shattered pieces of glass. However, what caught Dean's attention the most was the blood splattered here and there. It wasn't too much blood, but still it wasn't too little either, and when his eyes saw a trail of blood, he gulped down.

It was enough blood to be deadly.

Was it Chuck's blood?

Castiel's?

Or maybe Kaitlin's?

Dean didn't want to think about any of that. Clenching his jaw and taking a deep breath through his nostrils, he crouched down and took one of the sharp pieces of glass. He looked at it for a moment when he heard a couple of familiar steps. He looked up at his little brother and stood up.

"You think this is…" Sam trailed off, his hazel eyes fixing at the long trail of blood.

"I don't wanna think anything until I get actual facts," Dean replied with a hard voice before he sunk the piece of glass in his palm.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, his face scrunching up in a sort of wince as he stared at his brother tracing a rather long and deep cut into his own palm.

"We need to have a way out if they come back," Dean groaned as he pulled the piece of glass out and threw it on the floor before walking to the sliding door separating the living room from the kitchen.

Sam watched his brother as he used his own blood to draw a symbol that the young Winchester slightly recognized, "Isn't it the sigil that was in the warehouse where we were supposed to meet Castiel a while back?"

"Must be," Dean muttered as he finished it and slid the door back into its tiny space. He pulled out a little towel from his pocket and wrapped it around his bleeding hand when they both heard a noise coming from another room.

They looked at each other before agreeing with a simple look to quietly go to the living room. Sam walked to the left towards the staircase when he was suddenly hit on the head with a toilet plunger causing him to stumble back.

"Jeez! Ow!" Sam exclaimed as he brought one hand up to his head and looked at the bearded man standing in front of him.

"Sam," Chuck said, his face covered with a couple of cuts and blood and panic mixed with relief painted in his features at the sight of the Winchesters.

"Yeah!"

"Hey Chuck," Dean said looking at the Prophet.

"You're okay?" Chuck said, approaching them with an expression of bewilderment.

"Well, my head hurts," Sam replied as he pulled his hand away from his head.

"No, but I-I me-mean in my last vision. You went, like, full-on Vader," Chuck sputtered. "Your body's temperature was 150, your heart rate was 200. Your eyes were black!"

"Your eyes were black?" Dean asked from where he was standing right behind Sam.

With a pained and regretful face, Sam turned to look at Dean, "I didn't know."

Dean stared at him for a few seconds, not sure of what to say nor what to do. As big as that new information was, Dean knew it wasn't really the time to comment on it or to reprimand Sam for not listening to him. If he wanted to keep himself together, he had to take one thing at a time.

He shifted his green gaze to Chuck, "Where are Kate and Cas?"

"They're dead," Chuck replied with a little voice full of sorrow just like his face.

Both of the brothers froze at those words. It seemed as though a violent tornado washed over them in the split of a second causing waves of indescribable feelings of remorse and sadness to grip tightly at them.

"Or gone," Chuck quickly added. "Three angels came and then Zachariah came, too. For some reason after some kind of speech, Zachariah didn't do anything to Kate or Cas. He just walked away – or rather, he vanished. And then it was a real battle in here. After Cas got rid of one angel, the archangel smote the crap out of him. And the other angel didn't go soft on Kate, neither," he looked back and forth at Sam and Dean, only to see their faces filled with shock and pain. "I'm sorry."

"You're sure?" Dean asked in a little voice. "Maybe Cas just teleported himself and her into the light or something."

"Oh no, no. He like exploded. Like a water balloon of chunky soup!"

"What about Katie?" Sam asked in almost a whisper.

"She had that, er, that sword that Bobby apparently soaked in something before giving it to her. And, well it helped hurting angels, but it couldn't kill them," he explained. "After a few minutes, the other angel just beat the crap out of her. And then, when Cas exploded, they took her with them."

"So, she could still be alive?" Sam asked, a sudden rise of hope appearing inside of him at the thought of one of their friends still alive.

"After what they've done to her? I don't think so. She fought like a real Amazon, really. But they were too strong. I tried protecting her but they prevented me," he told them, his blue eyes looking down for a moment. "But I guess they wouldn't have taken her with them if she was already dead."

Sam sighed, his hazel gaze dropping at the thought of the innocent woman probably dead now. It hadn't taken him long to become attached to her; she had always been so easy to talk to and so kind with all of them. No doubt, she didn't deserve to die that way. She didn't deserve to die in their universe. They were supposed to send her back home.

" _You okay?"_ He had asked her before they had tried summoning the Opener of the Way.

" _No, I'm… I'm scared."_

" _Hey, you don't have to be scared. We'll be with you the whole time. We're gonna make sure you're sent back to your universe during the right era, and above all else, we're gonna make sure you're sent back there, safe and sound."_

Looking up, Sam's gaze fell on Chuck, "You've got a... Uh..."

"Right there?" Chuck asked showing the right side of his head.

"No, um," Sam pointed at the other side.

"Oh," Chuck said as he reached for the other side. His hand immediately found something a bit stuck into his hair. "Oh God… Is that a molar? Do I have a molar in my hair?" Dean looked at him with a blank stare before swallowing and rubbing a hand down his face before turning his face away. "This has been a really stressful day," Chuck half-whined.

"Cas and Kate… You stupid bastards," Dean almost whispered as he shook his head, his eyes glued to the floor.

"Stupid?" Sam asked turning around to look at his older brother. "They've tried to help us."

"Yeah, exactly!" Dean exclaimed looking up at him. "They weren't supposed to do any of that! Hell, we were supposed to protect Kate! Out of all the people who shouldn't have gotten mixed in our job, she's the main one!"

"You think I don't know that?" Sam replied with a frown. Dean stared at him before shaking his head and looking away.

"Oh crap," Chuck let out.

"What?" Dean asked him.

"I can feel them," the prophet replied in a little voice.

"Thought we'd find you here!" Zachariah's voice caused Sam, Dean and Chuck to turn around.

Unlike Sam who was a bit scared at having to confront the celestial creatures, Dean wasn't feeling one ounce of fear. He was entirely angry; a feeling that was painted all over his face and his body.

Standing in the kitchen with two other angels in suits, Zachariah looked at Dean with his usual smug face, "Play time's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

"You just keep your distance, ass-hat," Dean ordered him with his forefinger pointing at him.

"You're upset?"

"Yeah. A little," Dean replied sarcastically. "You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!"

"Really we let it happen but we didn't start anything," Zachariah told him before he turned his gaze at the taller brother behind. "Right Sammy?" he winked at the young Winchester before shifting his gaze back to Dean. "You had a chance to stop your brother and you couldn't. So let's not quibble about who started what. Let's just say it was all our faults and move on. Because like it or not, it's apocalypse now. And we're back on the same team again."

"Is that so?" Dean asked him with raised eyebrows.

"You want to kill the Devil, we want you to kill the Devil. It's synergy," the angel smirked at him.

"And I'm just supposed to trust you? After what you did to Cas and Kate?"

"What I did to Kate? What, all the tortures? Making her relive the best of your stay in Hell, you mean?" Zachariah asked with a wicked smile.

"That was you," Dean groaned between gritted teeth as he clenched his fists.

"Guilty," Zachariah held his hands up and chuckled.

"You son of a bitch-"

"Oh come on, don't be rude. I was only trying to get her to obey and to stop being so stubborn. All of Heaven understood that it had to be done anyway," Zachariah replied with a wave of his hand. "But what you need to understand, is that more important problems are here now. And this isn't a game, son. Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast! Before he finds his vessel."

"His vessel?" Sam asked from where he was standing next to the quiet Chuck. "Lucifer needs a meat-suit?"

"He is an angel," Zachariah replied with a little scoff. "Them's the rules. And when he touches down, we're talking four horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies, the greatest hit. You can stop him, Dean. But you need our help," he told the older Winchester who didn't seem this convinced but was still listening very carefully to every word that left Zachariah's mouth.

Dean's eyes were filled with fury as he stared at the angel. Now that he knew Zachariah had been behind Kate's torment from the very start, there was no way to simmer the hunter down. He didn't even want to know why angels would torture someone who they claimed had to be protected at all costs. All Dean was sure of, it was that he had been greatly manipulated by those winged-douchebags and the only angel he could trust – the blue-eyed angel in a trench coat – was now gone because of them.

"You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did to Kate and Cas and after all the other fucking crap you did, I don't want jack squat from you!" Dean shouted at him.

"You listen to me, boy!" Zachariah shouted louder than Dean, taking one step towards the hunter. "You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" He scoffed before his eyes dropped to one of Dean's hand. "You're bleeding," he stated with confusion.

"Oh yeah," Dean replied, his lips curled in a corner smirk. "A little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up."

Completely perplex, Zachariah frowned when Dean quickly turned around, pulled the sliding door and slapped his bloody hand on the sigil banishing the angels away in the flash of a white light and a scream of Zachariah's.

"Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch," Dean said when he saw that the banishing sigil worked. He turned his head towards Sam and Chuck to check if they were alright.

"This sucks ass," Chuck immediately commented when he met Dean's gaze.

"You," Dean said to him in a hard tone as he walked with firm steps towards the Prophet who looked at him with a bit of fear as he hid behind Sam's robust body.

"Don't hurt me!" Chuck yelped causing Dean to roll his eyes while Sam wrinkled his brow trying to get a look at the short man hiding behind him.

"I ain't gonna hurt you," Dean told him, standing in front of his brother that Chuck used as a shield. "I want you to give me every damn thing you wrote about Kate!"

"W-what?" Chuck stuttered as Sam took a large step on the side. Chuck glanced at Sam before returning his blue eyes towards the older hunter. "I-I can't do that. She wouldn't want you to read the visions I got about her. In respect for her, I can't-"

"Chuck," Sam cut him off with a gentle tone. "Dean and I need to know what happened when she met with Zachariah."

"Well, I can tell you about it," Chuck replied, looking back and forth at the two brothers.

"Except we don't have time," Dean told him, his voice harsher than needed. "Those dicks can come back at any moment."

"Well, we-we can rewrite the sigils on the walls and –" Chuck started, gesturing to the walls with his hands.

"No. The copies. Now," Dean strictly ordered. Chuck looked at him for a moment before nodding and quickly walking to his armchair.

"I-I don't have all of them," the prophet said as he crouched down and pulled a stack of pages from under his armchair. "Kate already took a lot the last time you guys were here."

"Give us all you got left," Dean told him, his eyes following the writer while his little brother's eyes were glued on him.

"I got some upstairs," Chuck announced as he dropped the stack of pages he already found, in Sam's arms before striding his way upstairs.

Sam looked down at the stack in his arms before glancing up at his brother to see him biting on his nails. It took Sam aback. This little gesture was something that his brother rarely did. In the past, he had seen Dean doing this about ten times, probably not more and definitely not less. It only happened when Dean was extremely anxious and had absolutely no idea of what could fix the situation they were stuck in. He would bite on his nails and be entirely oblivious about it. Sam knew that it was in those kind of moments that Dean's brain was burning up with the thousands of thoughts and questions rushing everywhere in his mind and mixing up with a tornado of what ifs.

It was right then that Sam realized that believing so much that killing Lilith, would help his brother, was a mistake. It was right then that Sam realized that his last actions, even if they would have had a better outcome, would have never helped his brother. Because no matter what, Dean was always crushed by a burden of responsibility that no one could take off him. And, this had been like that ever since they were just kids.

"Alright, that's all I got," Chuck's voice distracted Sam from his thoughts causing him to shift his gaze away from Dean and to look at the shorter man who walked in the living room with a thinner pile of pages.

"You sure about this?" Dean asked, his two hands now dropped at his sides.

"Yeah, yeah," Chuck replied. "Do you need a bag? I think I got one somewhere."

"Here," Sam said, nodding towards the armchair.

Chuck turned around, walked to the armchair and stopped, "Oh."

"Oh, what?" Dean sighed. "We don't have time for your 'oh', Chuck!"

"It's, um, it's Kate's bag," Chuck said in a little voice as he stared at the bag before taking it with his hand that wasn't holding pages. He glanced up at Sam and Dean, noticing the sadness they were trying so hard not to appear on their facial expressions. "Do-do you want another one, maybe?"

"No," Sam replied before clearing his throat and shaking his head. "Um, we'll take her bag."

"I'll be waiting in the car," Dean muttered, walking out of the house with a slam of the front door.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

Sitting at the table of the motel room he and his little brother booked in, Dean was buried in the reading of the pages Chuck wrote about Kate. Every line built sorrow, anger and guilt inside the man. To know that he had failed on protecting a person who had gone through tortures so neither he or someone else would have to, was tearing him apart from the inside.

" _You can stop, Dean," Kate said to Dean before a wave of aching pain went through her. She didn't have the right to stop Dean from torturing Alastair and Zachariah was letting her know that by torturing her. Rebelling against the angel by choosing to protect the hunter was something that Kate had to pay._

" _I can't do that," the hunter replied, looking away._

" _You can, Dean," she insisted, her fingernails digging into her palms as she struggled against the never-ending pain that subsisted in her due to Zachariah's anger towards her._

Dean couldn't help the tears that formed in his eyes as he flipped the pages, not bearing to read this passage anymore.

" _I figured you out. You won't do anything if we torture you. You won't do anything if we give you back what you've lost. And I could just erase all of your memory until you finally do what I tell you. But you won't do anything. And you know why? Because you are just like Sam and Dean. You can bear it all, as long as the ones you care about are alright," Zachariah told the young woman whose eyes widened at the sudden realization of what the angel was going to do. Her disobedience towards the angel came from her attachment to the people who took care of her – those people she wanted to take care of because she cared so deeply about them._

 _The young woman felt completely destroyed as though everything around her collapsed as the angel continued telling her that the people she cared about would be horrifically tortured if she came to disobey him again. Pleading with the angel not to do any of that, she fell back on her last resort. Begging the angel to torture her instead, resorted to being the thing that brought glee in the angel._

Dean tossed the pages on the table and exhaled a long sigh as he stood up and hit the top of the table with his two fists. He couldn't read more. Sure, he didn't read all of the pages, but he had spent quite some time reading now. And, what he read turned out to be already enough for him to not only hate Zachariah much more, but also to feel even guiltier. He was mad at Zachariah for what he had done to the innocent woman and he was mad at himself for not protecting her. He wished he could have acted different, he wished he could have protected her the way she deserved to be protected; the way _she_ protected them.

Throwing a glance at the pages, Dean felt tears roll out of his eyes when the sound of the door unlocking from outside made him turn around. He rubbed one hand down his face to wipe the tears away and he coughed when Sam walked in.

"Hey!" Dean told him after clearing his throat.

"Hey!" Sam replied before closing the door. "Here," he said as he pulled a little bag out of his brownish jacket and tossed at his brother who caught it easily. "Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Demons, either, for that matter."

"Where'd you get it?" Dean asked him as he examined the tiny brown bag in between his calloused fingers.

"I made it."

"How?"

"I... Uh, I learned it from Ruby," Sam stammered, feeling a bit uneasy considering everything that happened with and because of that demon.

Dean stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes scanning his brother's expression before he took a few steps towards his brother, "Speaking of. How you doing? Are you jonesing for another bitch blood or what?"

"It's weird," Sam replied. "Uh, tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever. It's like whoever put me on that plane cleaned me right up."

"Supernatural methadone," Dean nodded at him.

"Yeah, I guess," Sam simply replied. He paused and watched his brother who was looking down at the hex bag he had given him. "Dean-"

"Sam," Dean cut him off as he turned around and walked back to the table. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything."

"Well, that's good," Sam said as he put his hands on his hips. "Because what can I even say? I'm sorry? I screwed up?" Sam's eyes fixated at Dean who grabbed his gun and put it in his pocket, throwing glances at the pages scattered on the table after he had tossed them a few minutes ago. "Doesn't really do it justice, you know? Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right-"

"So why do you keep bringing it up?" Dean cut him off in a shout full of frustration.

"Because I know how all of this is affecting you," Sam replied in a little voice, his eyes filled with sorrow. "We lost two of our friends and I know that you're feeling guilty about Katie, but if you think you're the only one-"

"She went through Hell because of me!" Dean shouted, cutting Sam off once again. "Zachariah made her go through Hell because of me. Literally! Because that stupid, stubborn girl thought she had to protect me-"

"Dean-" Sam cut him off.

"No!" Dean didn't let him stop him. "No," he repeated in almost a whisper. He looked right into Sam's puppy dog eyes and sighed. "Look, I-I don't wanna fight about it. I…All I'm saying is, why do we have to put any of this under a microscope? We made a mess. We clean it up. That's it."

Sam stared at him, unsure of what to think of Dean's suggestion. Still, he gave him a simple nod.

"Alright," Dean said as he approached his brother. "So, say this is just any other hunt. You know? What do we do first?"

"We'd, uh, we'd figure out where the thing is," Sam replied in a little voice.

"Alright. So, we just gotta find the… The Devil," Dean told him before looking down at the hex bag still in his hand before throwing it in his brother's hands. "You can keep that, I already got one."

"What? How can you have one?" Sam asked him.

"Kaitlin... She's given me one before… Before I left her at Chuck's with Cas," Dean replied trying to not sound too affected or hurt for that matter. All he wanted to sound like was strong. He had to get a grip at himself. He couldn't break down with the Apocalypse here.

"Do you... Um, do you think she's really dead?" Sam asked, his voice so little that it reminded Dean of a much younger Sam who was afraid to sleep with no light on. Dean looked up at him and immediately spotted all of the remorse and sadness his little brother was feeling right now.

Dean turned around and walked to the table, slipping one hand in his pants pocket, he took out the hex-bag Kate had given him. He looked at it for a moment and sighed as he leaned his hands on the back of one chair.

"I don't know," he sighed before turning his head to look over at Sam. "I don't know, Sammy."

Sam dropped his sad gaze on the floor while Dean returned his own to his hand still holding the hex-bag; the last words she told him echoing in the back of his head.

" _Be safe!"_

* * *

 _ **A few days later.**_

It was already past ten at night when Sam and Dean arrived in the location where the older brother was sure Michael's sword was. The two brothers were exhausted and it was only the adrenaline that kept them going now. After those last days full of events, none of them wanted to give up until they had the sword with them.

Indeed, after Chuck had sent one of his fans to tell the brothers about his latest vision, Dean had immediately called for Bobby to help them. The old man got in the Impala and drove straight away from his house to get to the Winchesters as quick as possible. However, when Bobby had come to the motel they were staying in, he had gotten possessed by a demon who then got the information of the location of the archangel's sword out of Dean with facility. As though it hadn't been enough, Bobby had stabbed himself in order to save Dean from the demon possessing the old man.

And, although the two brothers were extremely worried about Bobby who was at the hospital, they knew they had to get their hands to the sword before someone or something else did.

Parked in front of the Castle storage where their father's lockup was, Sam and Dean opened the trunk and put a good number of efficient weapons on them before making their way to their late father's storage room.

Shotguns ready, Sam and Dean opened the door, only to find dead bodies sprawled across the floor. The brothers exchanged a look before they carefully walked in the dark and dusty room, their eyes traveling all around in case something would jump at them.

"I see you told the demons where the sword is," Zachariah's voice suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence of the room. Dean and Sam both spun around to find the angel once again escorted by two other angels.

"Oh thank God. The angels are here," Dean said sarcastically.

"And, to think," Zachariah said ignoring Dean's sarcastic comment as he stepped above one of the corpses on the floor. "They could have grabbed it anytime they wanted," He held one arm up and waved his hand to close the door. "It was right in front of him," he continued, looking back at the older Winchester standing in the room. Dean had a slightly confused expression on the face while Sam frowned.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"We may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it happened to be true," the angel answered to him "We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it," his lips curled into a smug smile. "Until now. You've just hand-delivered it to us."

"We don't have anything," Dean replied.

"It's you, chucklehead," Zachariah told him. Both of the brothers stayed silent as the angel advanced towards Dean. "You are the Michael sword."

Wide-eyed Sam and Dean stood still, shock preventing them from saying one word as they still tried to grasp at the new information.

"What?" Zachariah asked the quiet Dean. "You thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean. And not much of one."

"What do you mean, I'm the sword?" Dean asked with a rough and hard voice, ignoring Zachariah's comment.

"You're Michael's weapon. Or rather, his... Receptacle."

"I'm a vessel?"

"You're _the_ vessel," Zachariah replied pointing at him. "Michael's vessel."

"How- Why me?"

"Because you're chosen!" The angel exclaimed. "It's a great honor, Dean."

"Oh yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom," Dean said in stern sarcasm. "That's real fun. I think I'll pass, thanks."

"Joking," Zachariah said, slightly shaking his head. "Always joking... Well, let me tell you I've had enough of your jokes just like I've had enough of her stubbornness!"

"So, you gonna kill me like you killed her?" Dean asked, knowing far well who Zachariah was referring to.

Zachariah smirked, "No… You don't get it, Dean. You never did. No one got it and I don't think anyone will really get it." Dean frowned as he stared at the angel. "When she came into this universe, your dear Kate was… She was everything we could ever imagine to have in our hands. And I was the first one to see what she could bring us. I was the only one, ready to sacrifice it all for her! But, how tough and stupid and stubborn she was!" Zachariah let out a frustrated sigh. "But, you know what? At the end, all of Heaven knows how right I was… Anyways, this is a very serious situation, Dean, and you need to understand that I don't have any patience left. So… No more jokes."

"Otherwise what?" Dean asked him, his eyes still full of anger.

"Well," the angel replied as he raised one hand up, fingers put like a gun and pointed it at Dean for a moment before shifting to Sam. "Bang."

"Aah!" Sam yelled as he fell on the ground. Dean turned to look at his little brother who was holding at his legs, his face scrunched in pain. "My God!"

"You son of a bitch!" Dean growled at the angel as he looked at him with even more fury.

"Keep mouthing off, I'll break more than his legs," Zachariah told him in a stern voice that sounded a little casual. Dean threw a glance at Sam who was struggling not to scream out of pain. "I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war has begun. We don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?"

"How many humans die in the crossfire, huh?" Dean said in reply. "A million? Five, ten?"

"Probably more," Zachariah replied. "If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive."

"There is a reason you're telling me this instead of just nabbing me," Dean told the angel as he stared right into his eyes. "You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin."

"Unfortunately yes," Zachariah admitted.

"There's gotta be another way," Dean said shaking his head.

"Well, the only other way I can think of, is not something you would like. And, to be honest, it's more of an insurance card to take out if we lose the battle."

"If you got that card, use it and leave me alone!"

"No, Dean, you don't understand. It's gotta be you. There must be a battle, Michael must defeat the serpent, it is written."

"Yeah maybe," Dean said after glancing at his brother on the floor "But on the other hand… Eat me. The answer's no."

"Okay," Zachariah just said. "How about this? Your friend Bobby, we know he's gravely injured. Say yes and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again." Sam looked up at Dean to see him having this expression of defeat on his face that he always tried so much not to show.

"No."

"Then how about we heal you from… Stage-four stomach cancer?"

Dean doubled over, coughing as he held on his abdomen with one arm and held one hand against his mouth. When he pulled his hand away from his mouth, he noticed that the raw pain he was feeling in his abdomen had caused him to cough blood.

" _And, you're gonna fight, huh?"_ Kate's soft voice echoed in Dean's head.

The hunter looked up at the angel, his eyes full of determination to fight as he spoke up with sterness.

"No."

"Then how about you say yes and we'll give you your friend back, huh?" Zachariah told him as he snapped his fingers making _her_ appear.

Dressed in a simple sleeveless white dress that reached past her knees, Kate seemed unconscious as the two angels on the back were holding her up by her arms. Her brown hair fell like a curtain over her face, preventing Dean to see her face which only caused Dean to worry.

"What did you do to her?" Dean asked, his green eyes dropping to her bare feet.

"Surprisingly enough, nothing," Zachariah told him. "Now that all of the angels know what we can get out of her thanks to my little experiments I did when I gave her your dear souvenirs, all of the painful memories were taken away from her. And, since she almost stupidly died at the Prophet's house, she was immediately taken to Heaven where she was taken care of. She's all better now; a bit asleep, sure, but she's still all better. So, what do you say?"

"Dean…" Sam said in a weak voice causing Dean to look at him. The simple look that his little brother gave him, told him that he had to save Kate. He couldn't not save her, again.

Dean looked at the limp body of the young woman and remembered what he read in Chuck's manuscripts. How she stood up against Zachariah, no matter what the consequences were. How she kept on fighting for what she believed to be right, no matter what the angel did to her.

" _And, you're gonna fight, huh?"_ Her voice echoed again in his head.

"No," Dean succeeded to say as he looked at the angel again with a hard and strong-willed face. There had to be sacrifices, even if it meant that the people he cared about were to get hurt.

"Alright," Zachariah said and then a sharp scream escaped Kate's lips causing Dean's eyes to go wide. "Oh well, Heaven forbade me to torture her, but giving her back one of your best memories of Hell isn't really torturing her, is it?" The angel turned his head to look at the woman who was twisting around in the grip of the angels. "You know, when I look at her like that, in this pretty white dress, I can't help but think of all the good time I could have given her. Because, trust me, I would have treated her so right, she would have screamed for another reason, if you catch my drift," he winked at Dean who stared at him with full disgust written all over his face. "Alright, alright," the angel said as he snapped his fingers making Kate stop screaming. "Her voice was starting to get in my nerves. She's better when fast asleep. So, you still don't want to say yes, do you? How about we get a little bit more creative huh? Mmh, let's see how Sam does without his lungs?"

Suddenly, Sam started to gasp for breath, Dean turning around to look at him with pain. Dean never thought he would feel as helpless as he was feeling right now.

"Are we having fun yet?" Zachariah said looking back and forth at the two brothers before bending down in front of Dean and grabbing him by the chin. "You're going to say yes, Dean."

"Why don't you just kill us and use your fucking card?!"

"My fucking card? Dean, my fucking card is Kate! Do you really want Kate to fight against Lucifer? Do you really want her to take on your job? Do you want us to use her, because if we do there'll be more damages in this world than if you manned-up and played the role you were given!"

"I'll never say yes and she'll never work for you either, you better just kill us," Dean growled as he set his jaw.

"Kill you?" Zachariah asked as he stood up, roughly letting go of Dean's chin. "Oh no, I'm just getting started."

At this right moment, a bright light flashed in the room causing Zachariah to turn around.

Here stood the trench-coated angel that everybody thought dead. Not only was he back, but he had killed one of the angels holding Kate up with his angel blade. The other angel dropped Kate on the floor and brought his blade up to fight against Castiel. However, Castiel seemed to have no mercy at all compared to the other angel. His kicks and punches were stronger and faster and they had to be; Sam was slowly dying without lungs at the moment. Quickly, Castiel managed to hold the angel on a wall and stabbed him with his blade killing him and creating another flash of bright light in the lockup room.

"How are you..." Zachariah started as he looked at the rebelled angel.

"Alive?" Castiel finished for him. "It's a good question. How did these two end up on that airplane? Another good question. How did Kate remember everything about you and what you did after you took off her memory? And, I'm not talking about what the angels did after you got her at the Prophet's, but before when she was at Bobby Singer's. Because the angels didn't do any of that. I think we both know the answer, don't we?"

"No, that's not possible," Zachariah breathed out.

"It scares you," Castiel told him, his eyes fixing at the angel who used to be his superior. "Well it should. Now put those three back together and go. I won't ask twice," Castiel's voice was stern and threatening.

Zachariah stared at him for a long moment before glancing at Kate, still unconscious on the floor.

"You know what she is, Castiel," Zachariah told him. "You know what that means."

"I know that God wouldn't have agreed with you using her like that," Castiel replied, sternly before Zachariah disappeared.

The second Zachariah was gone, Sam and Dean's physical pain vanished as they sat up. Sam looked over at Kate who didn't move an inch before immediately going over to her.

"Kate?" he called her as he put his large hands on her face. "C'mon, Katie, open your eyes."

Dean stood up, his green eyes glued to the woman as he silently prayed for her to be okay. Castiel shifted his intense blue gaze to the dirty-blond-haired hunter, surprised that he would be praying. It was very out of character for Dean and the angel was very aware of that fact. As a matter of fact, every angels knew that Dean Winchester's faith had decreased over the years after his mother's death. He had rarely prayed for God or angels to help him. Moreover, his prayers were often lacking the full sincerity and need that they were supposed to be filled of. However, at this right moment as Dean kept his eyes glued to the young woman, his silent prayers reflected with perfection the ones that the most faithful man would have.

"Mmh?" Kate mumbled before opening her eyes. Relief washed over the two brothers; Castiel bowing his head with a tiny smile after he noticed the expression on Dean's freckled face. "Sam?" She breathed out as she tried to sit up but didn't succeed as she felt everything spinning around her.

"Take it easy," Sam told her kindly as he put his hands on her arms to help her sit up slowly.

"I'm fine. Just a little bit dizzy," she told him as she put one of her hand against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. "God, I feel like I've got the biggest hangover ever."

"You will be fine," Castiel said in his grave voice.

Kate snapped her eyes open and turned her head to look to the angel who had spoken up. Not two seconds later, she moved her eyes to the elder hunter standing a couple of feet away.

"Sam…" She whispered, her brown gaze turned at the young man knelt right next to her, a concerned yet relieved expression on his face. "God… Sam, you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," he replied with a little smile before she suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders and gave him a tight hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she told him, remembering their last encounter.

"Yeah, so did I," he said as he hugged her back.

Dean stared at Sam and Kate and then nodded with a sigh of relief.

Both the angel and the woman that he thought were gone, were both alive. He knew he should feel even better, but there was still a lot bugging at him. What Zachariah had said about using Kate if he didn't say yes to Michael was scaring him more than he thought possible. It was another information that was going to fill his thoughts and keep him awake at night.

"You three need to be more careful," Castiel said as Sam helped Kate up, and seeing that she was only wearing a simple white dress that was almost see-through, he took his jacket off and put it on her shoulders. She looked up at him and gave him a little soft smile thanking him silently. He gave her a little weak smile not being able to smile properly at her after what he had done to her, the guilt still eating him on the inside.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that," Dean replied as Kate and Sam were now standing right next to the older hunter and the angel. Kate's eyes were glued to Dean, but the second he looked at her, she moved her gaze to Castiel, remembering how he had defended her from the other angels at Chuck's. "Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than I thought."

"I don't mean the angels," Castiel told him. "The fallen angel is circling his vessel," he said glancing up at Sam. "And once he takes it, those hex-bags won't be enough to protect you," he walked towards the two brothers and put his hands on their chest. They moaned in pain as Kate's eyes went big, wondering what the angel just did to them.

"What the hell was that?!" Dean exclaimed when Castiel put his hands away and turned to the only woman of the group.

"An Enochian sigil," Castiel replied as he held his hand up toward the middle of Kate's chest.

"Wait," she told him as she backed away. "Let me get ready mentally at least," she said closing her eyes. Castiel didn't wait as he rested his hand on her chest and she opened her eyes, yelping at the sudden pain. The angel pulled away. "Thanks for letting me get ready," she sarcastically told him.

"It will hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer," Castiel told them, ignoring Kate's comment.

"What? Lucifer?" Kate exclaimed. "He got out? I thought-" She cut herself short when she noticed the look of guilt all over Sam's face. Understanding what it meant, she reached out her arm from under his jacket he had put on her shoulders and she rested it on top of his forearm and gently squeezed. Sam looked up at her face and was surprised to find her give him a smile full of kindness and sympathy. "So, what is it, Castiel?" She asked, turning her head back to the angel while keeping her hand around Sam's strong forearm; something that Dean noticed but kept quiet about. "What did you do to us? Did you just brand us with the sigil?"

"No. I carved it into your ribs," Castiel replied casually. The three humans stared at him with shocked, stunned and confused expressions mixed all together.

"Hey Cas, were you really dead?" Sam asked him, his voice little and hesitant. Kate turned to look at Sam before quickly turning her head to the angel.

"You were dead?" She asked him.

"At Chuck's, after the angel took you down and you lost so much blood that you fell unconscious, I tried to get to you to send you away from here before they got their hands on you again, but the archangel protecting Chuck killed me before I could even touch you," Castiel told her, his blue eyes looking deep into her brown eyes before he looked up at Sam.

"Then how are you back?" Dean asked and Castiel turned his gaze to him. He looked down for a second with a thoughtful look on the face before he disappeared. "He's got great social skills," Dean sighed as Kate slightly moved her head to look at him. When he looked at her, she didn't look away. "You okay?"

She gave him a simple nod, her eyes traveling down to his lips, "You've got blood." Dean glanced up at Sam before wiping his lips where he knew there'd be blood. However, he didn't wipe all of it which caused Kate to approach him, gently letting go of Sam's forearm as her brown eyes glued to the little blood on the corner of his lips. Dean watched her face as she brought one of her hands up and rubbed her soft thumb against the corner of his lips. "Here," she whispered, pulling her hand away before meeting his gaze.

When he opened his lips to say something, she abruptly threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to her so she could give him a tight hug. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he looked over at Sam who gave him half of a smile before looking down. Dean slightly frowned, not thinking he deserved her hug after all the things she's been through because of him.

Kate slowly pulled away, confused and hurt that the older Winchester wouldn't hug her back. Nevertheless, she pushed that thought away and dropped her gaze to the corpses, "Who are those people on the floor?"

"Demons," Sam simply replied, causing her to look up at him.

"Their vessels, you mean?" Kate asked and he nodded. She approached one of the bodies, bent down next to it and started to look for a pulse.

"They're already dead," Dean said, his voice sounding harder than what he wanted.

"Have you even tried to find their pulse?" She asked him, not looking up at him.

"Don't need to. The angels did that and they don't care about humans," he replied as he walked above a few corpses, heading towards the door. "You'd know that better than anyone," he said as he opened the door. "I'm gonna bring something to carry the corpses out so we can burn them."

Kate watched as Dean walked out, wondering why he was acting so weirdly cold to her. She returned her gaze to Sam who looked at her with an expression she couldn't decipher. It seemed as though he was lost and even stuck in a memory of his – an unpleasant memory.

"Sam? You okay?" She asked him, but the young Winchester didn't say anything as his mind was filled with the memory of the nurse he killed a few days ago.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

Sam and Dean got rid of the dead bodies by burning them in the closest forest, leaving Kate in the Impala from where she had watched them toss the bodies in a hole before setting them on fire. Truth be told, the woman had watched them getting rid of the bodies without really watching them. Her mind had played and replayed the latest events that happened to her. From the fight at Chuck's to her arrival in Heaven where a group of angels welcomed her as though she had been the most precious thing they had ever seen.

" _We are so sorry for the misunderstanding,"_ an angel in the body of a blond woman had told her. _"Zachariah thought he was doing right. His only true wish was to insure our Father's plan to succeed."_

Kate could still remember the weird but good feeling that washed over her when another brown-haired angel appeared by her side and touched her forehead.

" _All of his damages are gone. You won't have to suffer through another set of flashbacks. It never was your burden,"_ the blond-haired angel told her.

" _You took them all away?"_ Kate had asked, only to have the two angels nodding. _"Zachariah did this once and it didn't work, so how can you be sure it will work this time?"_

" _Zachariah never had the power of controlling memories. Being an angel of the high ranks gives him the power to remodel memories, but when someone's mind is too strong or, I would even say tenacious, things get complicated,"_ the angel had explained. _"Besides, we believe that God wanted you to have those memories back."_

" _Can you do it for Dean? Can you erase his memory of Hell?"_ Kate had asked, turning her face to look at the brown-haired angel.

" _I am sorry, but it is not my mission,"_ the angel had replied before vanishing away.

" _Our mission is to make sure that Dean Winchester plays his role and he will never do that if he doesn't remember what Hell was like,"_ the blond-haired angel had said making Kate look at her. _"He needs to remember how terrible it was, so he can help in stopping Lucifer from bringing Hell upon the world."_

" _Why Dean?"_

" _Because he is Michael's sword - his vessel if you'd rather."_

" _Michael's vessel… Do you mean, the archangel?"_

" _Yes."_

" _And, what am I in all of that? Why Zachariah did all of those things to me, 'cause I might not remember them but I know how much they hurt me!"_ Kate had said with frustration.

" _Zachariah needed to make sure that you were trustworthy and also that you would be strong enough to carry some heavy burdens. But most importantly, he wanted to convince you into helping us."_

" _Helping you? Shouldn't you be the one helping me? I-I'm stuck in this universe and I-"_

" _I'm sorry, but no angel can help you_ ," the angel had told her. _"It's not that we can't send you back to your universe, but as long as Lucifer is out of his cage and the battle between Michael and Lucifer isn't done, we cannot do that. The doors are locked until the battle is done. Plus, the only one who can open them is missing."_

" _God…"_

" _Unfortunately, yes,"_ the angel had replied. _"And, we need you. You are the weapon that can turn the whole battle to our advantage."_

" _The weapon?"_

" _You can be the perfect vessel for Michael if Dean doesn't play his part, just like you can be Lucifer's vessel_."

" _What?"_

" _It's not just that,"_ the angel had told her. _"Truth be told, we don't want you to interfere in the battle between Michael and Lucifer. What we want is for you to help us. Kate, you have the capacity to hold the greatest secret weapon of Heaven inside of you. It will be safe in you and-"_

" _What? So, I-I'm just some kind of storage unit on legs that you wanna use to keep your weapon safe?"_ Kate had cut her off.

" _No, by keeping it in you, you can become the weapon. You will become the weapon."_

" _But, why me? Why me out of all the people?"_

" _Because you're not from this universe. God made you and all the other people from your universe completely different from the ones in this universe. As a matter of fact, it's more than that: you happen to come from the universe where souls are much more powerful than in any other universe,"_ the angel had explained. _"If you want my opinion, I think we are all lucky you came in our universe. But, I also think you are lucky. Not a lot of people can help winning over Lucifer and then spend their eternity in a Heaven with their late father."_

" _My father… He's not even from this world, so how-"_ Kate had started before she had found herself standing in a beautiful garden.

" _Honey, where the hell have you been? The food's gonna get cold, c'mon!"_ Her father had told her from where he was sitting at a table with some picnic.

The noise of the car's doors opening brought Kate back to the present moment outside of her deep thoughts. She shook her head and looked up at the two brothers as they sat down on their usual seats upfront.

"It's done?" She asked them, her fingers playing with the hem of Sam's jacket that she was still wearing.

"Yeah," Dean replied simply before starting his car while Kate frowned, turning her head to look out the window. "You okay?" He asked her above the growling of the engine as he looked at her reflection on the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," she said in a thoughtful tone.

"It's gonna take a few hours, if you want we can stop at a motel before going to the hospital," Sam suggested, turning on his seat so he could see the woman sitting behind him.

"No," she shook her head, her eyes going up to meet his. "You said Bobby stabbed himself… Please, let's just make sure he's okay."

* * *

As Sam had said, the car trip to the hospital where Bobby was staying, had taken quite some time. It was almost three in the morning when Dean parked his Baby in the hospital parking lot, and the two brothers were going to step out of the car when Kate stopped them.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, turning his head to look at her.

"I don't have shoes," she simply said causing the two brothers to look down and catch a glimpse of her, indeed, bare feet.

"I think I got an old pair in the trunk," Sam told her as Dean sighed and got out of the car.

Kate chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for Sam to get back with the shoes. She was still uncertain of what to think about Dean's attitude. He hadn't been talkative at all during the car trip; making sure to just say what she needed to know. Like the fact that her theory about the angels was correct, that the Apocalypse had started and that Zachariah had threatened not to let Bobby walk ever again if he still refused to accept being possessed by an angel. Kate understood that Dean had much more on his shoulders now, but it didn't mean that he had to act so distant with her. Was he still mad at her for not telling him about Sam and the demon blood? Or was he mad at her for her meet-ups with Ruby? Could it be that he was mad at her for something else?

The passenger door on her right shut open, startling the woman out of her questioning.

"Here you go," Sam said handing her a pair of old snickers. "They're, um, pretty big for you, but at least you won't be walking barefoot everywhere."

She slid to the edge of the seat as she looked up at the young Winchester standing next to the passenger door, "Well, I wouldn't have complained if we weren't in the outside," she replied with a little smile as she slipped her feet in the large shoes and tried to tie the shoelaces tightly. "Where's your brother?"

"He's already walking inside," Sam replied with a nod towards the hospital. She glanced up and saw Dean entering the big front door of the hospital building, not even waiting for them.

"I'm done," Kate announced, standing out of the Impala and looking down at her feet in the big shoes as she took a few steps and Sam closed the car's door. "I feel like I'm stealing all of your stuff. Your jacket and now your shoes."

"It's alright," he said in a little voice as he walked past the car. "I owe you more than that," he murmured to himself, but Kate heard him and frowned.

"Sam!" She called him, making him spin around to look at her. "You know I forgave you, right? I mean, in the panic room, y-you weren't really in your normal state, so there wasn't need of forgiving in the first hand."

He watched her face for a few long seconds, as though he was trying to verify the sincerity of her words. He looked away and asked her in almost a whisper, "Don't you resent me?"

Kate's eyebrows furrowed even more, her eyes scanning his sad face and the way his shoulders were dropped. He looked so vulnerable like that and that made Kate's face softened as she slowly approached him, her eyes glued to his face.

"No," she softly told him once she was right in front of him. She reached her hands out of the long sleeves of his jacket she was wearing, and put them on his arms. She gave a gentle squeeze making him look at her. "I will never resent you, Sam. Especially not for something you were totally oblivious about."

"I-I think I knew… Deep inside, I think I knew that what I was doing, it was wrong," he admitted. "Not just what I did to you, but everything else. Listening to Ruby and not to my own brother, killing Lilith…"

"And, it hurts now," she said and he gave a little nod as his eyes met hers. "You already blame yourself too, right? Then, why do you want anyone else to resent you? To blame you? Isn't what you're feeling enough? Aren't you hurting enough?"

"I… I don't think it's enough," he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

"Well, I think it is," she told him firmly. "I won't tell you to stop blaming yourself, 'cause I know you won't listen to me. At least, not today. So, for now all I want you to understand is that I don't resent you. And I'll never do. Because I know what's really inside of your heart. Bad things happened, but that doesn't make you a bad person, Sam. And that surely doesn't make you a monster."

Sam's teary eyes slightly lightened up at her words and his lips curled into a tiny smile, "Thank you."

"Anytime," she replied, squeezing his arms again before letting go. "Now, help me to walk, I feel like a clown with those shoes on," he gave her his arm so she could lean on while walking. "Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned clowns, I forgot you're scared of them."

He chuckled before stopping, "Um, what? N-no, I'm not- How did you know I don't like clowns?" He asked, his brows wrinkled in confusion.

"Oh, well," Kate started, realizing she hadn't told them yet that she had read Chuck's books about them. "Lucky guess, I suppose."

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

 _ **Bobby Singer's hospital room.**_

Leaned against the wall by the windows, Sam and Dean stayed quiet as Bobby shouted at the doctor who just announced him the bad news about his legs. For a moment, Kate regretted sitting at the old man's bedside since his shouting pierced her ears and caused her to wince more than once. Tired of being insulted and screamed at by his patient, the doctor left the room.

"Yeah, you better run!" Bobby shouted as the doctor slammed the door behind him. "You believe that yahoo?" He looked over at the two brothers.

"Screw him. You'll be fine," Dean told him, his arms crossed over his chest.

"So, let me ask the one million-dollar question," Sam said making Kate and Bobby look at him while Dean kept his gaze glued to the white floor. "What do we do now?"

"Well… We save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess," Bobby replied as he looked away.

"It's bad," Kate said, shaking her head. "Whoever wins, Heaven or Hell…"

"We're boned," Bobby finished with a sigh and she nodded. "You said the angels wanted you as a substitute if nothing goes according to their plan, right?" Bobby said, recalling what they talked about before the doctor came in to announce him that he wouldn't be able to use his legs anymore.

"Yeah," Kate nodded, licking her lips before continuing. "But it seems like they still need my consent, too."

"Even if it's for carrying their great weapon or whatever they said?" Sam asked, his brows furrowed.

"Yeah, I think that's the reason why they became milder with me," Kate replied putting a lock of hair behind one ear as Bobby carefully stared at her. "After what happened with, um," she paused, looking up at the two brothers and realizing she hadn't told them yet about what happened with Zachariah.

"With Zachariah," Dean finished taking Kate apart. He lifted his gaze and met hers. "We know about this."

"Oh, um," she glanced at Bobby and noticed that he was surprised too, so it gave away to her that he wasn't the one who told them. She cleared her throat, straightened herself on the chair, "I think that after that, the angels understood that it wasn't the best way for getting me on their side. So, they took every painful memories that Zachariah gave to me and they healed my wounds."

"Which is why you don't have that bump on your forehead anymore," Bobby noted.

"Yeah, that and a few other wounds. And," she paused, pressing her lips together for a moment, her eyes dropping to the sheet covering most of the old man's body. "And, they let me have some time with my father."

"What?" Bobby asked, looking at her with frowned eyebrows.

"He wasn't my father, though. And, I don't think it was, er, the version of my father from this universe. I think they used my memories of him to give me a perfect copy. I had to relive good moments and even had new good moments, but…" she paused, her eyebrows knitted together before she looked up at Bobby and then at the two Winchesters watching her. "They thought it would convince me, but it wasn't my father. Besides, now I know what angels, in order to reach their goals, are capable of."

"You didn't say yes to them? Not once, right?" Bobby asked her.

"Not once," Kate confirmed, her brown eyes looking right into his blue ones.

"Good," Bobby said. "We won't let them use you as a weapon or whatever else they think they can use you for!"

Kate couldn't help the smile that grew on her lips. It was in times like these that she was glad she had landed in his salvage yard and not anywhere else. "So, what now? I mean, if neither Dean nor I work for them, does that mean we let Hell win?"

"Of course, not," Bobby huffed.

"What if we win?" Dean suggested all of sudden, causing everyone else to look at him with surprise but also interest in his idea. "I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons, and their crap Apocalypse," he walked away from the wall, his green eyes looking at each of them. "Hell, they wanna fight a war? They can find their own planet. This one's ours," he said, noticing Kate slightly tilting her head. "It's yours too, now."

She raised her eyebrows at him before he continued, "So, I say they get the hell off our planet. We take them all on. We kill the Devil. Hell, we kill even Michael if we have to. But we do it in our own damn selves."

"And how are we supposed to do all this, you little genius?" Bobby asked as Dean stopped right in front of his bed.

"I got no idea!" Dean said shrugging. "But, what I do have a GED and a give-them-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out."

Bobby glanced at Kate and then at Sam, before returning his eyes to Dean, "You're nine kinds of crazy, boy."

"It's been said," Dean replied with a shrug as Kate bit on her bottom lip, trying really hard not to give a full smile as she watched the green-eyed hunter. Seeing him so strong-willed in not letting either side win, made her see that she had been fighting for the right thing. "Listen you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit," Dean said as he approached the old man to pat him on the shoulder. He took a few steps back and looked down at the young woman. "You're coming with us or you're staying?"

"Huh, I think I'd rather stay, in case Bobby-" she started before the old man cut her off.

"In case Bobby what? Until, Castiel decides to come back and put me back up on my feet I have a gang of nurses to take care of me here. You don't have to stay. Besides, you look like a homeless person in those clothes."

"Always so tactful with your words. But, alright, since you're throwing me out…" She trailed off as she stood up from her seat. She put her hand on top of his and gave a gentle squeeze. "I'll see you later."

"Make sure to be wearing normal clothes next time," he told her.

"I'll try," she chuckled before following Dean to the door. He opened it and they started walking out when they heard Bobby call after Sam. Kate looked up at Dean before sneaking past him to get out when she understood that Bobby wanted to have a private talk with the younger Winchester.

Dean looked at her as he heard Bobby starting to make his apologies to Sam for what he said to him when he was possessed. The older brother frowned before deciding to follow the young woman out.

"Hey," Dean called after her as he walked in the hospital hallway. She spun around and looked at him as she waited for him to catch up with her. Once he was by her side, she restarted walking towards the exit door. They walked in silence, until one of Kate's feet got out of the big shoes she was wearing.

"Damn," she muttered as she looked down to slip her foot right back into the shoe. She was surprised when Dean crouched down and helped her put on the shoe. She felt her cheeks turn red and avoided the eyes of the people passing them by and staring at them. She looked down at the hunter and saw that he re-did the tie of her shoelace, making sure to even tie it around her ankle. "What are you doing?"

"It won't be easy to step out of those shoes like that," he told her as he did the same with the other shoe. She watched him do, her teeth biting on her bottom lip as she felt his calloused fingertips brushing the smooth skin of her ankle.

"Do you think Castiel can heal Bobby?" She found herself ask him without even really knowing why.

"Sure, why not?" Dean asked her, glancing up at her with a frown.

"I dunno," she replied. "Earlier, on the road, you said Zachariah threatened to never let Bobby walk if… If you said no. What if this curse or whatever that is, can only be undone by the angel who cursed it?"

"That'd make sense," he told her as he stood up. His green eyes immediately met her brown ones. "Let's just hope that this time, you're wrong."

"Yeah," she replied softly. "Thanks," she said glancing down at her feet before they restarted walking in silence.

Once they got outside, Kate looked up at Dean and then threw a glance at the building, "What about Sam?"

"He'll be here in a couple of minutes. Bobby had some things to tell him."

"Yeah, I know, but what about him?"

"What about him?" Dean repeated, looking down at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Is he really alright? I mean with his demon blood needs?" She asked, looking up at Dean as she pulled Sam's jacket closer to her body when a violent wind hit them.

"That's what he says," Dean just said as they kept on walking in the parking lot, towards his car.

"You think he's lying?" she asked him in a little voice.

"I don't know what to think," he sighed as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

"Sorry, I'm being too curious," she apologized shaking her head as they were now two steps away from the car. "I know that I'm a real pain sometimes-"

"What? No, no," he told her as he turned and stopped right in front of her, causing her to look up at him with confusion. He took a deep breath, "It's just that… It's been too much lately. And I-I feel like I haven't even had time to swallow everything down. The Apocalypse came right after Sam broke the final seal because he chose a demon over me. I haven't even had to time to accept that yet and I've already got Armageddon thrown at me. And, then there's this whole thing with Zachariah. And, I thought you were-" He stopped and looked at her for a moment.

"You thought I was what?" She whispered, her brown eyes trying to keep the eye contact but his eyes were traveling all over her face.

"I thought you and Cas were dead," he replied, his eyes finally settling into hers.

"Hey," Sam's voice appeared, causing them both to notice how close they were standing before they took a step away from each other. "Bobby and I thought about something. Maybe we could go look after the Colt?"

"Why? What difference would that make?" Dean asked before he walked the few little steps between him and his car. He opened the driver door as Kate quietly walked to the other side of the car, trying to keep a low profile while they talked.

"Well, we could use it on Lucifer," Sam replied as Kate opened the passenger door to get into the backseat. "I mean, you said back there-"

"I just said a bunch of crap for Bobby's benefit," Dean cut his brother off, turning to look at him as Kate froze with her hand on the door-handle. "I mean, I'll fight. I'll fight till the last man, but let's at least be honest. I mean, we don't stand a snowball's chance and you know that. I mean, hell, you of all people know that, Sam!"

"Dean," Kate said, her tone nearly stern and hard, which made him turn to look at her. She didn't like the way he talked so harshly to his little brother. "Is there something bothering you that much?"

"What?" Dean asked her, surprised by the way she was looking at him and talking to him all of sudden.

"I think that what she means is, is there something you wanna say to me?" Sam said causing Dean to look at him thoughtfully before he glanced at Kate and then looked back at his little brother.

He took a deep breath, "I tried, Sammy. I mean I really tried. But I just can't keep pretending that everything's alright. Because it's not. And it's never going to be. You chose a demon over your own brother and look what happened."

"I would give anything," Sam told him, his voice echoing out the pain, sorrow and remorse filling him on the inside. "Anything. To take it all back."

"I know, I know you would," Dean replied. "And, I know how sorry you are, I do. But, man… You were the one that I depended on the most. And, you let me down in ways that I can't even..." Dean licked his lips and looked away as his eyes filled with tears as he struggled with words. "I- I'm just having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here, you know?" Dean said and Sam slowly nodded his head.

"What can I do?" Sam asked in the same little voice that made him look so vulnerable earlier. Kate looked over at him and she could no longer see that tall and strong character anymore. All she could see was a little boy who had done a mistake that he genuinely regretted and who was ready to do anything to make it up.

"Honestly? Nothing," Dean replied and Kate shifted her gaze to the elder brother, with shock. "I just don't... I don't think we can be what we were, you know?" Sam whose head was lightly down nodded at his brother. "I just don't think I can trust you."

"Dean-" She started, only to be cut off by him.

"No," he gestured to her to not say a word by holding a hand up towards her. He shifted his teary eyes to the brunette. "No."

* * *

 _ **Three hours later.**_

It had been more than a couple of hours since Dean booked the three of them in a motel room not very far away from the hospital where Bobby was staying at. A heavy calm had driven with them from the hospital to the motel, and it caused the three of them to focus on their thoughts which wasn't exactly a very good thing since their thoughts only helped their worry to creep back up inside of them. When Dean parked in the motel parking lot, they had all immediately got out, quiet as mice, as they made their way to the reception where Dean asked for just one room for the three of them.

There wasn't a lot of space in the blue-walled room as it was little and composed of some big furniture. Two queen sized beds, a long table with four chairs, a tiny sofa in one corner, an old TV hung up on another corner and a large wardrobe next to the bathroom's door. The room was a bit dirty, but considering how much the night-in cost, it was rather expected.

The instant they had walked in the room, Dean had dropped his duffle bag on one bed, silently claiming it his for the night before going to the bathroom. Kate had taken the tiny sofa although Sam insisted on her sleeping on the other bed. She didn't have to ask for clothes as Sam pulled out an old t-shirt of his and a pair of jogging and handed them to her. When Dean had walked out of the bathroom, she went in to take a quick shower and change before returning in the room a few minutes later, to find the two brothers already fast asleep.

Looking over at the digital clock hung on one wall, Kate realized that she had spent a good few hours rolling in the tiny sofa with no chance to fall asleep. She sat up with a groan and turned her head towards the two brothers – Sam was mostly covered by his blanket whereas Dean was sleeping on top of the bed. Unlike his little brother who had put on his pajamas, the older Winchester had taken off only his military jacket and slept with all of his clothes on, down to his boots.

She had noticed how exhausted they looked and to see them getting the rest they needed, reassured the young woman. They were always trying to do so much good that they often forgot to take care of themselves and sometimes they even forgot that they were humans and needed to take a break once in a while.

" _You need my consent, right? This is why you're being so nice with me,"_ Kate remembered saying to the angel after she had spent hours with the copy of her father in some garden.

" _Indeed. But, we know you will make the right choice."_

" _What makes you say that?"_

" _We have watched you, Kaitlin. Of course, it had been impossible to watch you after you got suspicious of us and started wearing a hex-bag against us,"_ the angel had told her. _"But, we have watched you enough to know how your mind work."_

" _Really? And, how does it work?"_

" _Like them. You are ready to sacrifice yourself if it means that the people you care about, the people you love are safe and sound. It is remarkable."_

" _It is normal,"_ Kate had replied with a scoff _. "It's called being human."_

" _Which is why I find it remarkable,"_ the blond-haired angel had told her with a smile _._

" _You know, I'll never say yes. So, why do you keep on trying?"_

" _Because, we have to."_

" _You know you're tarnishing God's memory by doing this,"_ Kate had told her. _"I never was in his big plan and now that He's gone, you want to put me in it."_

" _We are not besmirching His memory, because He is not dead. He is gone, but He will come back,"_ the angel had replied. _"And, when He does, He will see all of our efforts to make sure that what is written is accomplished… Look, we know that you are angry at us for some angels' actions, and we understand your anger. Nevertheless, we can't let that anger blind you."_

" _It doesn't blind me. Not at all. I know how manipulative you are, and this is the main reason why I'll never say yes!"_

" _You need some time with your father, to calm down. I will see you later,"_ the angel had said before Kate found herself in the same garden where her father was waiting for her again.

When Sam groaned loudly in his sleep, Kate was pulled out of her thoughts. She looked at the young man who shifted in his sheets and she sighed before putting her face in her hands. She rubbed her hands down her face and swung her legs to the side and stood up. She approached Sam and despite of the low lightning of the room she still noticed the drops of sweat covering his forehead and the fisting of his hands around the sheets. She softly put one hand on top of his forehead and stroked his hair's strands back, before bending down.

"Shh. It's alright, it's just a nightmare," Kate gently whispered to him as she continued caressing his hair back. "It's alright, Sammy. You're alright."

Sam slowly unclenched his fists and his face softened until he was no longer moaning nor groaning in his sleep.

Kate stared at his face for a moment, before taking her hand away and pulling the sheet up so it could cover his t-shirt clad chest. She straightened up and let out a soft sigh before walking to the door. She needed some fresh air in order to clear her mind and fortunately enough, their room's front door gave to an outside hallway just like a balcony. She walked to the edge, sat down with her legs sliding in between bars so she could have them swinging in the air.

The beautiful orange-like color of the unclouded sky gave away that the sunrise happened just a few minutes ago, which suddenly reminded Kate that she never actually saw the sunrise in her universe. She couldn't help but wonder if she would ever see it. The thought saddened her a bit but as she dropped her gaze to the parking lot, she was distracted by a brown-haired man sitting on the Impala's trunk and swinging his legs in the air.

She frowned as she realized he was looking up at her. She couldn't truly make out his face, but she was sure that he was smiling up at her.

"You shouldn't be sitting on that car," she told him, not needing to shout it out since the parking lot was silent.

"Why not?" He asked her in a playful tone.

"I know the man who owns that car," she replied. "And, he wouldn't like that at all."

"If you say so," the man said jumping off the car as Kate watched him carefully. He turned around and looked at the Impala, one hand going in his pocket before spinning back around to look up at her. She was pretty sure that he was smiling as he put what looked like a lollipop in his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Dean's familiar rough voice startled Kate.

"You scared me," she sighed, looking up at him before returning her eyes to the parking lot and noticing that the man was gone. She frowned as she searched with her eyes, "What the hell?" She muttered to herself.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked her, still standing a foot away from where she was sitting.

"Um, nothing, I…" She closed her eyes and shook her head, realizing that maybe she should have forced herself into sleeping since now she was seeing things. "What are you doing here?" She asked, tilting her head back so she could take a good look at him.

"I asked first," Dean replied.

"What are you, five?" She asked him, rolling her eyes before she turned her head back to the empty parking lot.

She heard him sigh before he sat down next to her, sliding his thicker legs in between the bars with a light groan. She threw a glance at him when he eventually settled in the position she was in. He kept his gaze focused on the horizon and Kate couldn't help but watch his profile for a few seconds. He truly was a beautiful man. Feeling her cheeks warming, she tore her gaze away to stare at the horizon too.

"Thank you," he told her, taking her by surprise as she turned her head to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"What for?"

"Everything," he replied, keeping his green gaze glued at the horizon. "Fighting on our side and helping us," he said before he remembered the way she had reacted towards Sam when she found out that Lucifer was out, the way she took Sam's defense when they left the hospital and the way she calmed him down a few minutes ago when he was having a nightmare. "And, especially for being there for Sammy when I'm not or when I screw up everything with him."

Kate watched him for a moment before her gaze fell to his hands, "Did you really mean what you said to him?"

He turned his head to look at her and when she lifted her gaze, she was slightly surprised to find him already looking at her.

"Yes."

"You say yes," she told him. "But, your eyes, they tell me something else," he scoffed looking away.

"Kate, my own brother betrayed me for a demon and it triggered the fuckin' Apocalypse. Lucifer is walking the Earth because he trusted a demon more than me-"

"So what?" She said, causing him to look at her with his eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "He did a mistake and he knows that, Dean. You know he's feeling terrible about it and you know that if he could, he would take it all back."

"I've been patient with him, Kate. I've given him second chances and I warned him on several times," he replied, his tone a bit hard but Kate knew it was only hiding pain. "He never listened to me. Not once, Kate. He made his own choices." The young woman dropped her gaze to her own hands, she turned them over and looked at her palms.

"Is that a reason to give up on him?" She asked in a little voice.

Dean's eyes traveled from her face to her displayed palms as the memories of her struggling against Zachariah and his tortures had pushed her into clenching her hands so tightly that her nails had cut into the skin of her own palms. She had gone through a lot because of him and of his choices. Whenever he disobeyed Heaven's orders, she had to endure another torture.

"I ain't saying I'm giving up on him," he replied, his eyes going back to look at her soft face. "It's hard, but I'm too worried about him and what will happen to him, and what he will make happen to himself… So, I can't give up on him. Even though, it's hard, I can't."

Kate nodded, not knowing what to say as she reached for the bars and swiftly stood up.

"There's something else," he said causing her to look down at him as he stood up too. Once he was standing in front of her, he looked down at her and swallowed down. "You can't stay with us."

"What?"

"With everything that's happening, it's too dangerous for you to stay around Sam and me."

"What?"

"Listen-" He started when she cut him off.

"No, you listen. What makes you think that staying with you is more dangerous than me being on my own?"

"You won't be on your own," he told her. "I'm gonna call Matt and ask him to pick you up."

"Oh because with him, I'll be totally out of danger, of course."

"It's better than staying with Sam and me!" He replied, half-shouting. "Everything is gonna get more dangerous and messier and even bloodier in our lives, I know that. I can feel it. And, you shouldn't be around any of that."

"Why, because you decided?"

"Because it ain't your life! Hell, it ain't your fucking world! You shouldn't be mixed up with all of this. You should be researching for a way back home and that's all you should be doing," he told her, his voice and his gaze harsh.

"Why?" She asked him and when he opened his mouth, she continued. "No, I want to know why you think, right now, that I shouldn't be here around you. Because, honestly, Dean, after everything that happened with Zachariah, I would have thought that-" She stopped as she realized what it really was about. Dean looked at her, without saying a word, his green eyes piercing her with their intensity. "It's because of what happened with Zachariah, isn't it?"

Dean remained quiet for a short while, before looking away with a sigh. "It was my fault. And, I… I don't think I can keep on looking at you without feeling the guilt tearing me from inside."

"Dean, it wasn't your fault," she gently whispered.

"Yes, it was."

"No, it wasn't, so stop blaming yourself you idiot," she told him as it hurt her to see the pain splashed all over his freckled face. "Don't ever say that again."

"The thing is that, when I look at you, I see all of the things you've been through to protect me. When I look at you, I see you having memories that still haunt me non-stop while you shouldn't know a damn thing about that," he admitted to her, tears slowly forming in his eyes.

"Dean, no," she shook her head. "They're all gone. I don't even remember any of those memories."

"You still had to go through them," he told her looking down as though ashamed to even look at her.

"No," she said putting one hand on his chin to make him look at her. "Please, don't. I am alright, Dean. I really am. So, don't put another burden on your shoulders."

"The thing is," he started as he wrapped his fingers around the wrist of her hand holding his chin. He pulled her hand away, "When I look at you, I hate myself even more because I wasn't able to protect you."

"I never asked for your protection," she murmured as he stepped back, her hand dropping.

"And, I never asked for yours," he said as he advanced towards the door.

"Do you realize how stupid that is?" She asked him as he put his hand on the handle. "The angels want to use me, too. Being around you or not, won't change that. I'll still be in danger."

"At least, they won't punish you because of what I do or choose to do," he replied, his back facing her. "C'mon, Kate. We need to call Matt."

"Why do you keep on calling me Kate?" She asked him in almost a whisper. "I thought you liked Kaitlin better."

He remained quiet as he opened the door and walked in the room.

* * *

 _ **Two days later.**_

 _ **South Dakota, Sioux Falls. At Bobby Singer's.**_

"It's weird," Kate said as she walked in the calm house.

"What is?"

"Being here without Bobby," she replied, throwing a glance at the dark-haired hunter who closed the front door and approached her. "It's so quiet."

"Won't be in a couple of days. I heard he's getting out in the end of the week," he replied, looking down at her.

"He called you?" She asked him, looking up at him.

"Um, no. Sam Winchester did. And, he asked about you, too. But since you were in the bathroom, I told him you were okay," he replied with a slight shrug.

"When was that?"

"At the dinner this morning," he replied as Kate watched him.

"What did he say else?" She asked, wondering if they had told Matt about the current events aside from the fact that Bobby couldn't walk.

"Nothing," Matt shrugged, before he looked at her with squinted eyes. "Was he supposed to tell me something?"

"Uh? No, no. Um, I'm gonna pack my things," she said gesturing to upstairs before walking up the stairs.

"Don't take all of your stuff, we're only leaving for a few days," he called after her.

"Yeah," she replied in a shout before going inside what had become her bedroom the past few months.

She stopped at the doorway, her eyes travelling around the room as though she hadn't seen it for months. The feeling of comfort that she felt the second Matt had parked his car in front of Bobby's house, emphasised when she looked at the four-wall room in which she had spent quite some time. Her duffle bag laying at the end of her bed caught her eyes as she quickly walked to it. She grabbed it and dropped it on the bed before opening it to find a few items in it. A few hex-bags, a couple of books about universes, a brush, two dirty socks and a t-shirt. She turned the bag over and emptied completely on the bed before walking over the wardrobe. She opened it and grabbed a few clothes and tossed them on the bed. She reached over to the big bag in between the wardrobe's side and the wall and pulled it out.

She stopped in track, crouched down and looked at what was inside of the bag. She had completely forgotten that she had gathered a good number of Chuck's _Supernatural_ volumes in that bag. She glanced at the little table she used as a nightstand and noticed that the bag that was underneath and packaged with the rest of the books wasn't there. She realized that Bobby must have found that missing bag that day she was knocked out by Pamela's weird beverage.

Kate let out a long sigh before returning her gaze to the bag in her grasp. She took one book out and looked at the cover on which a very exaggerated version of Sam and Dean's face were drawn. Almost unconsciously, her fingers traced the cover as her eyes fixed at the drawing of the older brother.

Dean had been the one to send her away two days ago, claiming that she'd be safer with Matt than with him and his brother. Just like her, Sam hadn't thought it was good thinking, but considering the delicate situation with his brother, he hadn't voiced up his opinion too much. Kate understood that Sam couldn't do much at this point and she had shown him that she still appreciated his support. The meeting point with Matt had been at the St Martin hospital where Bobby was staying. And, although Bobby didn't seem very keen with Dean's idea of not letting Kate stay with them, he still agreed that she had to focus on her way back to her universe. Thus, the old man asked Matt to drive Kate to his friend Eleanor Visyak in San Francisco. Nevertheless, Kate was doubtful about the possibility of going back home. Too many factors were against that possibility, not to mention the fact that the blond angel had told her that as long as the battle between Michael and Lucifer didn't happen, she wouldn't be able to go back. However, Kate hadn't told anyone about this yet. She didn't want to add another kind of pressure on everyone.

The kind of pressure she wanted so badly to take off though, was the one that Dean imposed on himself by thinking that he was the reason Zachariah had tortured her. When she thought about it, she knew that it wasn't completely false; nonetheless, she knew that the main reason why Zachariah did all of this to her was to verify that her entire self was powerful enough for using her as a weapon. Therefore, she had no reason to blame Dean for everything she went through. No matter what, she would have gone through those tortures that she had forgotten about, unlike Dean who still had them playing in the back of his head.

"Idiot," she murmured, her eyes glued to the drawing of Dean's.

"What did you say?" Matt's voice suddenly appeared causing her to snap her head to the left and spot him standing there with a beer in one hand.

"Nothing," she mumbled, putting the book back in the bag.

"Need help?"

"No, I'm good," she replied, pushing the bag away before standing up. "I just gotta find my boots and a few other things, and I'll be ready to go."

The grey-eyed hunter in his usual dark clothes watched her as she stood up and made her way to the opposite wall where a few big brown boxes were aligned. He couldn't help it when his eyes studied her from top to bottom. The way she moved seemed a bit different as though she was more careful with each step she took, which was very unlike her. Sure, most of the time, she was a very methodical and meticulous woman, but not all the time and surely not at that extent.

"You look different," he suddenly said as she pulled the pair of boots out and threw them in the duffle bag.

"Different?" She asked with raised eyebrows as she put the boots in the bag and went back to the wardrobe.

"Yeah," he said, following her with his eyes. "As if you're finally at peace... But, in the same time you look extremely worried."

She stopped her fingers in one of the drawers. He was right. She felt at peace now that Zachariah's tortures were completely gone and also knowing that the angels weren't going to do that to her again was also good to know. However, she was worried that they might change their mind and decide to torture her until she breaks down and accepts to do whatever they want. Moreover, the situation with Lucifer being out of his cage terrified her a lot. Putting one hand up on her chest, she reminded herself that Castiel had put a sigil on her ribs and there was no way angels could find her with that. However, she was still worried about what was to come. And, when it wasn't any of that keeping her worried sick, Zachariah's words were quick to echo back in her head.

" _You have no idea what the future holds for you. It's magnificent and dreadful_ ," The angel had told her. _"You will have to make choices that will tear you apart, you will lose people dear to your heart and you will play the role I want you to play. And it all started in October 1983."_

"You're right," she replied, turning around to face him. "Although I've got a burden taken away from me, I'm still worried. Because, there are still lots of things I don't understand, lots of things that I will have to face. And, although I was told that things are just things, I know that those things are gonna be bad."

Matt watched her carefully before approaching her, putting his beer on the wardrobe before resting his hands flat on her shoulders and slightly leaning down so she could in his eyes, "And, you think I'm gonna let you face those things on your own? Huh? I won't let any harm be done to you. Not anymore. I'll protect you."

"I've never asked you to protect me," she whispered, looking away as tears formed in her eyes.

"Yeah, you never did. But, Dean Winchester did," he replied. Her teary brown eyes shifted back to meet his grey ones, wishing right that at this moment she could see green eyes instead.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I want to thank each and all of you dear readers for all the support you gave me!**

 **A while ago, I lost all of my files containing the chapters I had worked so hard on and that made me feel so low that I almost really gave up on writing a sequel for this story, which is the main reason why I selfishly asked you to encourage me on the previous story...**

 **And then you guys just blew my mind! I wasn't expecting that many reviews full of support and love on the previous story! I was truly, truly touched and I realized that I couldn't take this story away from you just because I was stupid enough to somehow lose my files. Your little reviews, following, favouring and whatever else you can do to a story on this website, just gave me so much strenght and motivation to re-write my sequel that I'm already writting it at the moment and trying to make it even better than the one I lost.**

 **So yeah, here you go with the first chapter of the sequel. Hopefully you enjoyed it. It was beta-read by the fantastic 'Igotzapped' who told me to keep on writing for you guys and who offered her help for writing interesting upcoming chapters... You'll find out when the time will come ;)**

 **Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such amazing persons who enjoy my story and make me enjoy writing it :)**

 **Lot of love,**

 **A.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter was inspired by the episode '** _ **Good God Y'all**_ **' (5x02).**

 **Enjoy reading :)**

* * *

 _ **One day later.**_

 _ **St Martin's hospital.**_

Sam had spent the last fifteen minutes, hands deep in his jeans pockets, standing at the doorway of Bobby's hospital room, watching the old man in utter silence. A despondent look was painted on the young man's features as he felt sorrow and culpability for what was happening to the old man. Watching him sitting in a wheelchair was hard enough, but the fact that he spent his whole time staring out the window without speaking one word was unbearable.

"It's been like three days now?" Dean said as he arrived next to Sam with a manila envelope in hand. Sam sighed. "You brought his hat?"

"Um, no," Sam replied, slightly shifting on his feet. "Kate brought it to him."

"You saw her?" Dean asked, surprise in his eyes as he looked at Sam who shook his head.

"She passed by last night. With Matt. He's the one who told me she took it before they left his place and insisted they would see him before leaving for San Francisco."

Dean didn't say a word before looking over at the old man. "We gotta cheer him up. Maybe I'll give him a backrub."

"Dean," Sam told him with a pointed look.

"Well, what, then?" Dean asked.

"Look...we might have to wrap our heads around the idea that Bobby might not just bounce back this time," Sam whispered, causing Dean to look at him with serious before turning his eyes to the old man. "What's in the envelope?"

"Went to radiology," Dean said as he opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. "Got some glamour shots."

Sam took the contents of the envelope that Dean handed to him and his eyes widened in surprise at the chest X-ray with strange writing on the ribs. Castiel's Enochian sigil truly had been carved on their ribs.

"Let's just say the doctors are baffled," Dean told Sam who examined the writing.

"Holy crap," the younger man commented.

"Yeah, well, Cas carved you one, too," Dean told him when Sam's phone rang.

He handed back the X-ray document to Dean and answered his phone call, "Hello?... Castiel?"

"Speak of the devil", Dean said looking at Sam after he slid the document back in the envelope.

"Ah, St. Martin's Hospital. Why? What are you—Cas?" Sam sighed as he hung up.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. He hung up when I told him where we were," Sam replied.

"I said, his social skills are great," Dean said with a pointed look.

"Well," Sam started before he spotted the dark-haired angel coming from around the corner of the hallway and walking towards them. "Huh," Sam huffed as he watched the angel passing by the few people until he reached them.

Dean turned his face to the angel, "Cell phone, Cas? Really? Since when do angels need to reach out and touch someone?"

"You're hidden from angels now—all angels. I won't be able to simply-" Castiel started to explain before Bobby cut him off from where he still was, nearby the window in his room.

"Enough foreplay. Get over here and lay your damn hands on. Get healing. Now."

"I can't," Castiel replied causing the two brothers to look at him with shock and the old man to turn his chair to face the angel with shock hidden behind a mask of hardness.

"Say again?" Bobby asked the angel, his voice stern.

Castiel walked up to Bobby, "I'm cut off from heaven and much of heaven's power. Certain things I can do. Certain things I can't."

"You're telling me you lost your mojo just in time to get me stuck in this trap the rest of my life?"

"I'm sorry," the angel replied.

"Shove it up your ass," Bobby told him, his eyes glaring at him before he turned his wheelchair back to the window while Dean turned his face towards his brother.

"Well, at least he's talking now," he half-whispered to him.

"I heard that," Bobby grumbled which made Dean regret his words immediately. The hunter turned his head back to see the angel walking up to him.

"I don't have much time. We need to talk," Castiel told him, his blue eyes boring right into the hunter's green ones.

"Okay."

"Your plan to kill Lucifer."

"Yeah. You want to help?" Dean told him.

"No. It's foolish. It can't be done," Castiel replied.

"Oh. Thanks for the support," Dean responded with sarcasm while Sam watched them.

"But I believe I have the solution. There is someone besides Michael strong enough to take on Lucifer. Strong enough to stop the apocalypse."

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

"I'm not talking about Kate if you think I am-" The angel said before stopping himself and looking around. "Where is she?"

"Um, with another hunter," Dean replied.

"Why?"

"Because she's safer with him than with us," Dean snapped at him.

"That is even more foolish," Castiel replied as Dean rolled his eyes.

"Who can take Lucifer down?" Dean asked him, sternness on his face.

"The one who resurrected me and put you on that airplane. The one who began everything. God. I'm gonna find God."

"You what?" Sam asked, completely taken aback by the angel's words as he walked in the room and closed the room's door.

"God?" Dean asked the angel.

"Yes."

"God," Dean repeated.

"Yes! He isn't in heaven. He has to be somewhere," Castiel told the hunter who looked at him with a skeptical look.

"Try New Mexico. I hear he's on a tortilla."

"No, he's not on any flatbread," then angel replied with furrowed brows and squinted eyes.

"Listen, Chuckles, even if there is a God, he is either dead - and that's the generous theory-" Dean started to explain to him.

"He is out there, Dean," Castiel insisted.

"Or he's up and kicking and doesn't give a rat's ass about any of us," Dean finished his explanation which only made the angel to glare at him.

"How can you say that while you prayed to him?"

"I prayed to him?" Dean asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes. When you were afraid Kate wouldn't wake up in your father's storage room. You prayed to God," Castiel told him as Sam looked over at his brother who he knew to be a man who never prayed.

"First, I told you no more reading people's minds. That's rude and weird," Dean told him, doing his best not to glance at Sam who, he was sure, was watching him carefully now. "And second, just look around you, man," he walked around the angel, giving his back to his brother and the quiet old man in his wheelchair. "The world is in the toilet. We are literally at the end of days here, and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of a coconut. Alright?"

"Enough," Castiel sternly exclaimed, turning around to look at Dean. "This is not a theological issue. It's strategic. With God's help, we can win."

"It's a pipe dream, Cas," Dean told him.

Castiel glared at him as he approached him, "I killed angels this week. My brothers. I'm hunted. I rebelled. And I did it, all of it, for you and you failed. You and your brother destroyed the world. And, I lost everything for nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself."

"You didn't drop in just to tear us a new hole. What is it you want?" Bobby asked, not wanting the angel to make Dean feel even worse than what he was already feeling.

"I did come for something. An amulet," Castiel replied, shifting his gaze towards the old man.

"An amulet? What kind?" Bobby asked as Dean took a step aside and glanced up at his brother to see him wearing a pained expression of guilt.

"Very rare. Very powerful," Castiel said as Dean shifted his attention back to him. "It burns hot in God's presence. It'll help me find him."

"What, like a God EMF?" Sam asked and Castiel looked at him and nodded.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I got nothing like that," Bobby shook his head.

"I know. You don't," the angel replied before looking at Dean and dropping his gaze to the amulet Dean was wearing.

"What, this?" Dean asked with frowned eyebrows.

"May I borrow it?"

"No."

"Dean. Give it to me."

Dean looked at the serious face the angel was giving him and then he looked down at the amulet around his neck. He grabbed it in between his forefinger and thumb as he remembered the Christmas Eve back in 1991 when Sam had given it to him.

" _Here take this."_

" _No, it's for dad."_

" _Dad lied to me. I want you to have it."_

" _You're sure?"_

" _I'm sure."_

Dean glanced over at Sam, thinking that his brother would make a signal to tell him not to give it or maybe to give it. However, Sam didn't do anything as he just stared at the angel. Dean sighed as he took off the amulet.

"Alright, I guess," he said as he held it out and then quickly pulled it back when Castiel reached for it. "Don't lose it." Castiel took it without speaking one word. "Great. Now I feel naked."

"I'll be in touch," Castiel told him before disappearing like usual.

"When you find God, tell him to send legs!" Bobby shouted.

* * *

"How far are we?" Kate asked for the fifteenth time as she looked up from one of her notebooks she was re-reading.

"Very," Matt sighed. It had been a few hours since they finished their breakfast and went back on the road towards San Francisco. Kate had managed avoiding telling him everything that happened with the Winchesters since the last time she saw him, by burying herself in her notes. However, the hunter wasn't dumb and he had noticed the atmosphere in the hospital room when he had picked her up. The way she had hugged Sam and Bobby looked as though she was trying to give them the strength she knew they'd be needing. And, the way she had half-glared at Dean, showed him how mad she was at him for making her go with him. Matt couldn't help but wonder if she was really that disappointed to be with him.

"What kind of answer is that?" She asked him with a frown.

"You've been asking me the same question for the past hour," he told her, his grey eyes fixed at the car driving a few feet ahead from them. "And, I've telling you that I will tell you when we're out of Colorado."

"Why are you so bitter?" She asked him.

"I'm not bitter."

"You sound bitter."

"Sounding bitter doesn't make me bitter," he said.

"It kinda does," she said back making him turn his head to look at her.

"I just…" He sighed. "I have the impression that you got something against me."

"What?" She asked, confused. "Why would you think that?"

"Because of the way you've been acting," he replied, throwing a glance at her. "I can see that you wanna go back to your Winchesters, but that ain't my fault if they decided you're better off them."

Kate stared at him for a moment before looking away, "You misunderstood everything. I'm just worried."

"Is that the only reason?" He asked her and she returned her gaze to him.

She remained quiet as she fixed his profile. There were so many things she still didn't know about Matt and she wondered if he would ever tell her more about himself. Truth be told, there were still many things he didn't know about her either and she wondered if he'd like to know more about her. Maybe the fact that he could read her so easily took away the wish he could have to know more about her. But, as much as he was good at reading her, there were things she was good at keeping secret, like Sam freeing Lucifer for instance.

He turned his head towards her, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"About what?" She asked him.

"That ain't the only reason," he said, looking at the road.

"Most probably not," Castiel's rough voice said from the backseat all of sudden startling Matt who lost control of his car for a couple of seconds.

"What the hell?!" He shouted as he turned his head to look at the trench-coated man sitting in the middle of his backseat.

"Castiel," Kate said as she looked at him big eyes.

"Castiel? That's Castiel?" Matt asked, looking back and forth between the blue-eyed man and the road. He had heard about him from Bobby and Kate, but had never seen him. "The angel?"

"Yes," Castiel replied.

"How did you find me?" Kate asked, eyebrows frowned as she was turned on her seat to look at him. "I thought the sigil prevented every angel to find us?"

"You're right. The second Dean told me that they sent you away with another hunter, I looked for that male," he told her and she glanced at Matt.

"How did you know I would be with him and not someone else?"

"I didn't. I had to read in Dean's mind," he explained to her before looking down. "Which he doesn't like very much."

"Why are you here?" She asked him.

"Letting you go with another hunter was a foolish idea," Castiel told her, his blue gaze returning into her brown one.

"It's alright," Kate told him. "Matt is a very good hunter."

"But, he can be seen by the angels," he told her.

"Well-" She started before the angel leaned over the frontseat and put one hand against the hunter's chest.

"What the hell are you doi-" Matt started before he felt a burning pain go through him causing him to lose control of his car until another car honked at them. "Hey!" He shouted at Castiel who removed his hand while he put his car straight back on the road. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"I carved your ribs with a powerful protection," Castiel simply replied.

"You what?" Matt asked, his eyes wide as he tried to keep his attention on the road.

"A little warning would be welcome, next time, Castiel," Kate said as she looked at the angel. "Anyways, did you heal Bobby?"

"No," Castiel replied, causing Kate to look at him with round eyes.

"Is that because of Zachariah?"

"Not directly. It's because I'm cut off from Heaven and most of its power," he told her and she looked down.

"What are you gonna do now?"

"I'm going to find God."

"What?" Matt and Kate asked at the same time.

"God is the only one who can help us-" Castiel started before Kate threw her hands on top of his mouth.

"I got it," she told him as Matt looked at her as though she was crazy. However, he missed the pointed look that she gave to the angel. "You go find God, and I'll see you later. Go, now." She put her hands away and the angel vanished.

"What was that?" Matt asked her when his cellphone rang and he pulled it out to answer. "Yeah?... Rufus?... Yeah, well I'm in Colorado right now… What? I can't hear you… Where?... River Pass?... Yeah, but – Rufus? Rufus?"

"What's going on?" Kate asked as she noticed the panic on the dark-haired hunter as he threw his phone on her lap.

"Rufus," he said as he stepped on the gas and drove past the couple of cars in front of him. "He's in trouble."

* * *

 _ **One day later.**_

 _ **Colorado, River Pass.**_

Bags on their back and guns in their hands, Sam and Dean had been walking in what looked like a ghost town for nearly twenty minutes with no sign of anyone other than the two of them. Bobby had sent them to this place after Rufus had called him for help, however when the call went dead and it had been impossible to reach him, Sam and Dean immediately got in their car and went to help the old man. The two brothers had been pretty surprised to see that the only road in or out of River Pass was completely destroyed. Nevertheless, their surprise rose up to a whole other level when they got in the town and found it eerily empty and silent.

They continued walking when Dean's attention was caught by a gleaming red classic Mustang. He quickly walked to it like a kid who found a candy store as Sam looked at him with a little frown. Dean bent down to get a better look at the wheels and then looked inside the car, stars shining in his eyes. He took a step back and whistle in full admiration. He stood there looking at the mustang until Sam lightly coughed, making him turn around. Sam gave him a pointed look and Dean glanced back at the car before understanding that it wasn't the most appropriate time to drool over a classic car.

Dean approached his brother and they both walked towards the gas station which was at the opposite of the mustang. The presence of blood splattered next to a car and baby stroller caused Sam and Dean to exchange a quick glance before they restarted walking. However, the sound of a gun cocking made them both whip around, leveling their shotguns only to find a familiar face looking at them with a gun pointed at them.

"Ellen?" Sam said confused.

"Hello, boys," the brown-haired middle-aged woman replied as she lowered her gun and walked closer to them.

"Ellen, what the heck's going on here?" Dean asked her before she splashed his face with holy water and raised her gun. "We're us."

Keeping her eyes on him for a few seconds in case he would react to the holy water, Sam and Dean stared at her in silence until she lowered her gun and walked towards the Church behind them. Dean looked over at Sam before following the woman who they considered family after all they had been through together. They hadn't seen her in a while and they both wished they had seen her in some other place because the fact that she was in the same area from where Rufus had called Bobby, didn't reassure either of them. Too many hunters on the same place only meant big trouble.

;;;;

Once Ellen opened the door, she walked in and turned around to look at Sam and Dean as they walked across the devil's trap drawn inside the doorway and the line of salt across the threshold.

She looked at them as Sam closed the door behind him, "Real glad to see you boys," she exclaimed throwing her arms around Dean and hugging him tightly.

The green-eyed hunter didn't know what to do as he stood still and let her hug him. There was something about hugs that made him slightly uncomfortable. He always felt that people gave him some love and support in those hugs that he couldn't give back entirely. That made him feel a bit selfish since he liked those kind and affectionate gestures and believed that they helped him feel slightly better, while he never gave back the same feeling. He often felt that he didn't deserve to be hugged. No matter what the reason.

Ellen pulled back and when Dean turned to look at Sam, she slapped him across his cheek.

"The can of whoopass I ought to open on you," she started scolding him.

"Ow!" He exclaimed with wide eyes as he stared at her.

"You can't pick up a phone? What are you, allergic to giving me peace of mind? I gotta find out that you're alive from Rufus?" She continued, ignoring the look on his face.

"Sorry, Ellen," he told her.

"Yeah, you better be. You better put me on speed dial, kid."

"Yes, ma'am," Dean replied before she looked at him for a moment and then turned to lead them further inside the Church. Dean glanced back at Sam who gave him big eyes and a shrug before they followed her down the stairs.

"What's going on, Ellen?" Dean asked her.

"More than I can handle alone," she almost muttered.

"How many demons are there?" Sam asked her.

"Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys," Ellen replied before stopping at a closed door and turning to them. "So? This is it, right? End times?" The brothers looked at each other without replying "It's gotta be."

"Seems like it," Sam decided to reply nodding his head. She gave them a little nod, before going over the door and knocking on it.

"It's me, Austin," she said as someone on the far side opened a peephole before opening the door.

The Winchesters followed Ellen to find a room with a few people, fear and worry on their faces as simple candles lightened the room. "This is Sam and Dean. Hunters. Here to help."

"You guys hip to this whole demon thing?" The scruffy man who had opened the door with a shotgun in his hands asked them.

"Yeah. Are you?" Dean replied, looking at him before another man spoke up.

"My wife's eyes turned black. She came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal," a suited-up man with glasses and a ring in the right hand said, his gaze glued to the table he was sitting at.

Sam and Dean looked at him for a moment before turning their attention back to the huntress. "Alright catch us up," Dean told her.

"I doubt I know much more than you," she replied, turning to look up at them. "I got a call from Rufus but I couldn't understand a thing he said. Then, I got a call from another hunter who told me to get here pronto. Wait, she's here somewhere," she said before turning around and walking a few steps towards a door nearby the little stage, the Winchesters closely following her. "Kate, you in here?"

"Kate?" Both Dean and Sam repeated, stopping in track behind Ellen.

"Coming!" They heard _her_ voice reply before she walked out of one door.

The young woman froze in spot when she spotted Sam and Dean.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked her in a hard voice as he eyed her up and down, taking in the opened blue flannel on top of a black tank-top, her slightly ripped jeans and her pair of boots that looked so similar to his and his brother's.

"I take it that you already know each other," Ellen said looking back and forth at them.

"Yeah, yeah we do," Sam replied in a gentle tone, nodding his head while Kate gave him one of her little smiles.

"I thought we agreed you stay out of all of this," Dean whispered to her with sternness. Her smile dropped off her face as she snapped her eyes back at him.

"We didn't agree on anything, Dean," she replied, frowning. "Sending me away with another hunter isn't agreeing that I will stay out of anything freaky-related from your world."

"No," Dean shook his head. "Matt was supposed to make sure that you stayed out of all this. Where is he? So, I can kick his ass for keeping his promises so well."

"Matt and I got separated," Kate almost whispered as she looked down for a moment.

"Jo and I, too," Ellen said causing Sam and Dean to whirl their heads at her in one swift movement.

"Jo? You're hunting with Jo?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, for a while now," Ellen replied. "Anyway, we got here because your friend called us," she said nodding at Kate.

"Um, yeah," Kate said when the three hunters looked at her. "Um, Matt got a call from Rufus yesterday and we immediately came down here. But, we didn't find Rufus anywhere so Matt gave me one of his phones and he, uh, well, he told me to call Ellen if anything happened. I mean, he knew that she was the closest hunter around this place, yesterday. So, um, when everything went crazy out there and Matt and I got separated, I did like he said. I called Ellen," she said looking at the woman. "And I told her that the whole town was possessed and that Rufus Turner and Matt Myers were here, but that I couldn't find them."

"And when did you arrive?" Sam asked, turning his head to Ellen.

"Early this morning," she told him. "I found her trying to keep these few people safe and sound in here while looking out there for Matt. And then, I got the same brilliant idea to separate from my daughter…"

"It's not your fault, Ellen," Sam gently told the green-eyed woman.

"We'll find her," Dean told her before shifting his gaze to Kate. "We'll find them all." Kate looked at him and then quickly looked away when she met his green gaze. For some reason, it had hurt her when he sent her a few days ago and it still stung just enough for her to slightly be pissed at him.

"You've done a good job keeping all these people safe, Katie," Sam told Kate and she thanked him with a smile. "But these people can't just sit here. We gotta get them out now."

"It's not that easy," Kate replied. "Ellen and I have been trying."

"Yeah, we even made a run for it once," Ellen said with a sigh.

"What happened?" Sam asked turning his gaze back to the former bartender.

"There used to be twenty of us," She replied and the two men turned to look at the ten innocents left in the room, excluding the four of them. It was enough for the brothers to understand that the situation was very serious and that they had to take action quickly.

"Well, there's three of us now," Dean told her as Kate nodded before abruptly stopping with a frown.

"You mean four," She corrected him.

"No, I mean three. In case you forgot, you're not a hunter," Dean told her with a quiet severe look that made Kate press her lips together and look away.

"Kate, not a hunter?" Ellen scoffed looking over at her. "You don't know what you're saying, boy. She's even better than a hunter. Anyways, you don't know what it's like out there. Demons are everywhere. We won't be able to cover everybody."

"What if we give everyone guns?" Sam suggested.

"What, are you gonna arm up baby bump over here?" Dean said referring to the pregnant woman sitting at the table with her husband.

"More salt we can fire at once, more demons we can keep away," Sam told him.

"I saw a sporting goods store on Main on the way in. I'm pretty sure you can find guns there," Kate said, avoiding any eye contact with Dean when he looked at her.

"Alright. You two stay. We go," Sam told Kate and Ellen before he walked towards the door with his brother.

"What about-" Ellen started to say but was cut off by Sam.

"If Jo, Rufus and Matt are out there we'll bring them back," he replied, his hazel gaze glancing at Kate.

"If Ellen wants to stay behind, that's her problem, but I'm not gonna-" Kate started, walking towards Sam.

"No, you're not coming," Dean told her, sternly as the few people in the room started to watch them.

"What? You have no right to tell me what to do," Kate told him and he set his jaw as he fixed at her.

"You stay here. That's an order," Dean told her before turning around and walking to the door that the scruffy man opened. Sam looked at Kate with an apologetic look before he followed his brother out of the room. The young man knew that his older brother was being a bit harsh on the young woman who had done so much for them, but still he didn't want to argue about this with him. Besides, he, too, thought that keeping her in this place was safer than bringing her outside with them.

Kate watched the door closing and fisted her hands before walking towards it.

"No, no," Ellen said, grabbing the young woman's forearm. "If Dean said no, you stay here."

"Are you serious?"

"He said you weren't a hunter, sweetie. So, if Dean Winchester thinks your place ain't out there," Ellen told her. "I'm not gonna say otherwise."

* * *

 _ **Half an hour later.**_

Sitting on the edge of the little stage with her arms wrapped around her knees, Kate's brown eyes were glued to the door, waiting impatiently for it to open with the two brothers she became so attached to. She could remember with limpidity the way she felt after the ghost case in one of their former High School in Fairfax, Indiana. She felt good, rested, comforted and supported. And, the feeling had been so good that she had stuck around when they came across a siren case. For a long time, it had been hard for her to fully trust people; especially after what happened in her High School. But, crashing in this universe where her existence was lacking, had forced into trusting strangers. Little by little, she understood that they were not only trustworthy, but simply worthy.

"You got a minute?" Ellen said as she stepped in front of her. Kate looked up at her and nodded. The huntress took a seat next to her, "So, when you said you were a friend of Matt and Rufus', you also said you were a friend of Bobby's. But, you didn't mention the Winchesters."

"I forgot," Kate replied, returning her brown gaze to the door.

"It's rare when people from the hunting world forget to mention knowing Sam and Dean Winchester," Ellen scoffed, linking her hands together in between her legs. "They're kinda famous in our world."

"I know," Kate mumbled. Ellen looked at her profile and sighed, feeling as though she was talking to her daughter when she was a stubborn teenager who wouldn't want to have a serious conversation without pouting.

"How old are you?"

"Um, I'm gonna turn twenty-five soon, actually," Kate replied, turning her head to look at the woman as she realized that her birthday was almost here and she was still in this universe that wasn't hers.

"Mmh, you're a bit older than my girl," Ellen smiled at her. "No doubt, Dean would act so protective of you."

"Um, no, that's not exactly the reason why," Kate told her, her face slightly scrunching. She remembered reading those books in which Ellen and her daughter appeared, and she had been quite envious of the deep care and love the mother had for her daughter. She only wished that she could have had the same relationship with her own mother. It only made her wonder why her mother had always been so bitter and cold with her back in her universe. What wrong did she do that would make her mother act so heartless towards her?

"Then what is it?" Ellen asked.

"Um, it's more complicated. Much more."

"When isn't it with the Winchesters?" Ellen sighed and Kate couldn't help the light snigger that escaped her lips. "May I know what you're doing with Matt Myers if you're not a hunter? Because, I know the boy and he ain't one to risk an innocent's life by dragging them around on hunts."

"Matt was supposed to drive me to San Francisco. We weren't supposed to come here, but Rufus called and, well you know the rest," Kate told her glancing at her before returning her gaze to the door.

"Doesn't really answer to my question," Ellen said as she watched the young brown-head's profile. "You know, Dean might say you aren't a hunter, you still did an amazing job in here. Keeping all these people safe in here, that's what a good hunter does."

"No. I'm not a hunter."

"That's better if you want my opinion," Ellen sighed, before analyzing Kate's face again. There was softness and innocence in her that shone brightly, but Ellen could also see a shadow of hardness lurking there, trying to creep up and to stagger all over. "This kind of job, it wears you out, it keeps you worried 24/7 and it haunts you. And, the thing is that when you step in, there's no way out." She stood up and looked down at Kate whose eyes were still glued to the door. "Just so you know, staring at the door won't make Sam and Dean come back earlier."

Kate shifted her gaze up to the woman who gave her a small smile before walking to the pregnant woman sitting at the table. Kate put her head on her knees and fluttered her eyes shut, wondering for the umpteenth time how her life got so complicated.

"Water?" A male voice asked making her look up at the scruffy brown-haired man carrying a shotgun in one hand and a little bottle of water in the other.

She gave him a polite smile and took the bottle he handed to her, "Thanks." She unscrewed it and took a long sip of it before handing it back to him.

"Keep it," he told her and put it down next to her, her gaze naturally returning towards the door. "They've been gone for only half an hour. You don't have to worry unless they're not back in another half an hour."

"That's comforting," she said, oblivious to the sarcasm in her tone.

"Sorry, I'm not really good at comforting," he replied with a slight frown as she looked up at him. "I'm more of an action guy than a word guy, and I just-"

"No, it's okay. It's me, I can be grumpy when I'm tired and worried," she interrupted him with a soft smile. She looked down at his shotgun. "Action guy, you said?"

"Yeah, I served in the army," he told her, pride in his voice.

"You're Austin, right?" He nodded. "Kate," she held her hand out.

"I know," he replied shaking her hand. "You're the one who got us all in here yesterday. That was impressive."

"Really wasn't," she mumbled, dropping her hand after their handshake. "I get like this sometimes when I freak out. I gather people and I lead them in a hole to hide with me so I won't be alone."

"You know someone who'd want to be alone in this kind of situation?" He kindly told her, and Kate couldn't help but think of Sam and Dean as she knew far well that they would want to be alone in this kind of situation, simply because they wouldn't want any innocent's life risked.

* * *

 _ **Two hours later.**_

After Sam and Dean came back with the salt and the guns, they demonstrated how to load the shotguns to the few who knew how to shoot a gun in the first place. Ellen showed to the rest, including Kate since Matt hadn't taught her how to load shotguns with salt bullets during their many training sessions. Kate had managed to spend some time with Sam, just enough to catch up about what happened the past four days since Dean made her go with Matt. Sadly, Kate realized that Sam was still feeling very guilty about what was happening and she tried to reassure that it was all going to be okay, although she wasn't very sure of that. Sam had been surprised but especially grateful when she told him that she hadn't said anything to Matt about him breaking the finale seal. The younger Winchester tried to explain his brother's attitude towards her but she wouldn't have it. She wanted Dean to be the one to explain for himself.

As Kate walked out of the tiny bathroom, she stood at the doorway, wiping her hands absently on her jeans when Austin stepped in front of her.

"You okay?" He asked her, tilting his head so she could meet his dark brown eyes.

"Oh, uh, yes," she replied putting her hands on her sides. "And you?"

"Well, you know," he shrugged. She looked at his face, the beard and the rather strict look making him look older than what he was. His eyes were filled with the tough memories of war, but still held a kindness that only those who lost things and people dear to their hearts could have. "Kinda hard to think that salt bullets are gonna save us." She let out a breathy chuckle before taking a hair-tie from her wrist and gathering her hair up. After a pause, he continued, "I'll never stop telling you that I admire what you've done with us here."

"Oh," she said, pulling her hair in a messy bun. "Well, like I said, it's no big deal."

"It's hard to come across a smart woman who's modest and pretty too," he said, taking Kate apart as she dropped her hands on her side. She gave him a nervous smile, her cheeks turning red as she looked away. "Sorry, I made you uncomfortable, didn't I?"

"No, it's okay," she shook her head, biting on her bottom lip and looking over at Sam who glanced up at her with a friendly smile before looking back at the pregnant woman who he was talking to.

"Oh," Austin said as he glanced at Sam and then back at Kate. "You're together."

"What?" She asked, looking up at him with confusion.

"You and gigantor. You're an item."

"What? No. No, no," she replied. "Sam's a friend and I-I'm not dating anyone. It's just that I, er, I'm not used to guys giving me these kind of compliments," she admitted, glancing away before doing a double-take when she saw Dean staring at them from his spot next to one table. "I gotta talk to Ellen," she stammered before walking past Dean to Ellen who was demonstrating how to use the shotguns.

Dean's green eyes followed the brunette as she passed him by, completely ignoring him. He fixed at her as she stopped in front of Ellen and then he turned his attention to the young man who was talking to her and making her blush just a few seconds ago. The former soldier was staring at Kate with a corner smile, his eyes full of an interest that Dean didn't enjoy very much.

"You," Dean said to him, his voice hard.

"Me?" Austin asked pointing at himself.

"Yeah," Dean said as Austin walked up to him. "You know your way around a gun at all?"

Austin looked up at him before taking the gun that Dean handed him. He expertly disassembled it with not a single hesitation, while Dean watched. He put the disassembled gun on the table, slipped his hands in his pockets and looked up at Dean with a little smirk on the lips.

"Where'd you serve?" Dean asked.

"Fallujah. Two tours. Got back a little over a year ago," Austin replied as Dean stared at him. "Takes one to know one. Where'd you serve?"

"Hell," Dean replied, causing Austin to snort in slight amusement.

"No, seriously?" he told the hunter.

"Seriously. Hell," Dean replied, looking at the man standing in front of him before looking over his shoulder where Ellen was showing Kate how to hold the shotgun properly.

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Dean was helping the pastor who was struggling with loading the shotgun he was given, but the hunter never managed to keep his attention fully on what the pastor was asking him. His green eyes kept on throwing glances at Kate who was chatting with Austin while loading shotguns. Not only was he bothered by the fact that she ignored him completely, but, for some reason, seeing the army guy turning around her so much was starting to get on his nerves. He had seen her talking to almost everyone in the room except him, and although he knew it was because of how he had made her leave with Matt, he believed that it was a poor excuse. He had done this to protect her and not because he didn't want her around anymore, and he thought she would understand that. He should have known that she would be stubbornly stuck with the thought that he just wanted her away from them.

"Here you go, padre," Dean said, handing the shotgun back at the pastor who thanked him. Dean turned his green eyes towards the young brunette and rolled his eyes when he saw her smiling at Austin. Turning his gaze away, he noticed Sam sitting by himself at the edge on the stage. Concerned, Dean went over him.

"Hey," he told him.

"You finished digging holes in Kate and Austin's back?" Sam asked him, in a little voice while still looking away.

"What? No, it's just there are demons in the whole town and he's shamelessly flirting with her," Dean replied, slightly huffing.

"Jealous, much?" Sam asked, his voice still quite little.

"Me jealous? C'mon Sammy, you know me better," Dean scoffed before looking down at his brother and noticing the pensive expression on his face while his hazel eyes seemed to stare blank in space. Dean sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

Sam looked at him before dropping his gaze to the floor, "It's just...at the store. Those demons were possessing teenagers. I mean, I had to slit some kid's throat."

"Come on, Sam, you had to."

"I know. I just...it used to be like..." Sam said before pausing while his brother watched his profile carefully. "I just wish I could save people like I used to."

"What, you mean when you were all hopped up on demon blood?" Dean asked him.

"I didn't say that," Sam replied when Ellen approached them, a shotgun in the hand and a desperately determined expression on the face.

"I'll be back," she told them making them look up at her.

"Where you going?" Dean asked her.

"I can't sit here on my ass. My daughter's out there somewhere. I'm not back in half an hour, go. Get these people out of here," she told them before taking a step away which made them both swiftly stand up.

"No, wait. I'll go with you," Sam told her.

"Whoa, hold on," Dean said as he looked at his brother. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Sam gave a little nod before Dean walked to the main door and Sam followed him. Kate followed them with her eyes, wondering if they were going out again. Excusing herself to Austin, she stood up to follow them when Ellen grabbed her wrist. The young woman turned around with a quizzical look.

"Dean wants to have a one-on-one talk with his brother," Ellen told her.

"But-" Kate started.

"Just let them," Ellen cut her off with a little shake of the head. Kate sighed and dropped her arm causing Ellen to let go of her.

The young woman turned around and fixed at the two brothers who were talking lowly since they hadn't closed the door behind them. She couldn't make out what they were telling to each other, and it wasn't that easy to read their facial expressions since she could only see their profiles. However, seeing the way their shoulders moved and how they stared at each other, she was pretty sure that their conversation wasn't very nice.

Her suspicion was confirmed when Sam slammed Dean into the wall. The young woman's legs immediately went to them.

"What's going on here?" Kate asked, looking back and forth at the two brothers who didn't pay her any attention.

"If you actually think I-" Sam started to tell Dean before he cut himself off. Kate watched the way their faces hardened as they stared at each other before Sam glanced down at her and then walked past her to get back in the room. Kate followed him with her eyes before turning her head back towards Dean.

"You're okay?" She asked him. He shifted his intense green gaze down to look at her before walking back in the room without a word.

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Sam was almost positive that the reason Dean let him leave the Church with Ellen to look for the missing hunters and civilians wasn't because Dean trusted him. He could bet on his life that the reason Dean let him go out was because he was testing him. If Sam succeeded in not drinking one drop of demon blood, then he would pass that test. He hadn't felt any compulsion to drink demon blood since they ended up on the spirit plane a few days ago, and he had promised himself that he wouldn't ever do that again. Nevertheless, he couldn't deny the fact that he wasn't certain he would succeed. No matter how strong-willed he was, he doubted his self-control and he doubted himself more than anything.

"So, what's up with you and Dean?" Ellen asked Sam as they walked side by side in the empty street. Sam looked at her, not really knowing what to say. "It was hard not to notice, how different things are between you guys these days." Sam stayed silent as she continued. "Lot of bad road there, huh? What happened? Some girl come between you or something? Wait, was it Kate who came between you-"

"What? No, no." He cut her off with frowned eyebrows. "She's just a friend."

"Then what?"

"It's just… Stresses of the job. You know how it is," he told her before deciding to change the subject. "Kind of surprised, you and Jo hunting. Weren't you always saying she couldn't hack the life?"

Ellen glanced up at him before looking down the street, "She can't. But if she's gonna do it anyway…"

"You want to keep an eye on her," Sam finished, understanding the woman's motives towards her daughter.

"Yeah," Ellen said in a thoughtful tone before pausing. "Kate looks like a good girl."

"She is," Sam replied, taking a look in the car they passed by. Ellen let out a very audible scoff causing Sam to look at her with a frown. "What?"

"It sounds like you really like the girl," Ellen smirked.

"You got that from two words, really?" He asked her with raised eyebrows that wrinkled his forehead.

"It's your face, you dumbo," she smiled at him as they stopped walking. "Your face and the way you said those two words. Look, I'm not saying you're in love with the girl, but don't think you can trick me by saying she's nothing to you."

"She's not nothing," Sam replied, his brows slowly frowning as Ellen stared at him. "She's something, that's for sure. But, it's not what you think. She's just… She's been there for Dean and me, and even Bobby, even though no one ever asked her to," Sam paused, looking down. "She's been through a lot because of us, but she never left us."

"She must care about you a lot," Ellen said, her green eyes scanning his face with gentleness. Sam looked up to reply when he noticed something down the street that made him frown. "What?" Ellen asked, turning her head to look at the same direction. Smoke was rising from behind trees. "Is that a chimney going?"

"Looks like it," Sam replied. "Come on."

* * *

 _ **Half an hour later.**_

Kate's eyes followed Dean as he paced in the room, obviously very worried about his brother and Ellen who hadn't come back yet. She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to worry before another half an hour like Austin had told her earlier, but she knew that it wasn't as reassuring as it intended to be. She wanted to tell him something – anything - that could take some of his worry away, but she remembered that she was still pissed at him for sending her away like a small child. Sure, his reasons were quite honorable: he believed that she wasn't safe around him or his brother. However, she felt as if he didn't care the slightest about how his actions might have hurt her worse.

" _I don't think I can keep on looking at you without feeling the guilt tearing me from inside."_

Kate frowned as she suddenly realized that she had been so busy being pissed at him for sending her away that she had forgotten what he had told her. It wasn't just the fact that he believed she would be safer far away from him; it was because it was too painful for him.

" _When I look at you, I hate myself even more because I wasn't able to protect you."_

It was too painful to look at someone he was supposed to protect, but failed. Whenever he would look at her, he couldn't help but blame himself for everything she went through. No matter what she had tried to tell him the other day, he still believed that he was to blame for what happened to her. She should have known that Dean would blame himself to this point; after all, she had read the ' _Supernatural_ ' books with a great focus and she had been in their world for over six months now.

Kate took a deep breath as she fixed at Dean and decided to talk to him. She stood up in one quick movement, completely forgetting that a shotgun was on top of her lap. It dropped to the floor making a thud noise that echoed in the room and startled everyone. Kate winced at the noise and looked at the people staring at her with wide eyes full of judgment.

"At least, the security lock was on," she nervously smiled to them, and she knew that if she hadn't been the one to gather them in this place, they wouldn't have hold back the insults for making them all jump in fear.

Dean stared at her as she bent down, took the shotgun and put it gently on her chair. She looked at them as they shook their heads before the pastor restarted the prayers he was saying in a murmur. Kate looked up at Dean and as soon as their eyes met, he looked away. Kate groaned internally before walking up to him, which caused him to raise his eyebrows as he looked down at her.

"What?"

"I was wondering how you're doing," she told him, her voice hesitant as she looked away. He scanned her face for a moment, wondering what really was on her mind.

"I thought you didn't wanna talk to me," he replied, causing her to look up at him.

"Well, you're the one who sent me away, aren't you?"

"If I knew Matt would drag you here, I would have called another hunter, trust me," he replied, walking past her to get closer to the door which was blocked by a large, wooden object.

"Well, the only other hunters I know are either stuck in a wheelchair or here," she told him as she approached him, her arms crossing over her chest as she stared at him.

"Sam told you Cas couldn't heal Bobby?" He asked her, looking down at her. She shook her head, biting down on her bottom lip as she looked away for a few seconds.

"Cas did," she told him, returning her gaze up to find him staring at her lips before he quickly looked up to meet her gaze. "He, um, he came to carve Matt's ribs with the sigil, in case the angels locate Matt to find me."

Dean nodded, before he looked behind her to see Austin, standing near the pregnant woman lying on the cot, his eyes glued on Kate and him.

"Dean," she said after a short moment, causing him to drop his gaze back to hers. "I, um, I wanna apologize." Dean was taken apart, not understanding what she would want to apologize about. "If I knew that you would blame yourself for what Zachariah did to me, I-"

"Kate, please, don't start," he sighed, walking around her to get nearby the wall where no one was.

"Dean, please stop," she said, her voice low enough to not attract the attention of everyone around them.

The hunter leaned against the wall, and she walked right in front of him which made him sigh again. Desperately wanting to avoid the conversation, Dean started to turn to his left so he could walk away, but she lifted one arm and rested it flat against the wall behind him. He looked at her with raised eyebrows before attempting to step to his right, but she lifted her other arm and trapped him there. Her arms were stretched out so she wouldn't have her body to close to his, but still Dean couldn't help himself as he analyzed the short distance separating them with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well, that's something I would have never expected you doing," he smirked. "You know we're not alone here, right?" Kate gave him a serious look making him roll his eyes.

"All I want is for you to understand that what Zachariah did to me, isn't your fault-" She whispered to him.

"He made you go through what I lived in Hell," he leaned his face closer to her as he whispered with sternness his reply. "Those were _my_ moments in Hell."

"So, if he had given me memories of Hell from someone else, you wouldn't be blaming yourself?" She asked him. The look he gave her, gave her the answer that broke her heart. "Why… Why do you Winchesters need to blame yourself for things you're not responsible for?"" She asked him softly.

"We are responsible for those things," he replied, his green eyes staring deeply into her chocolate ones while he brought his hands up and wrapped them around her elbows gently putting her arms down. "And you know that I'm responsible for what Zachariah did."

"I don't know who told you about all of this, but-"

"I read it," he cut her off, her eyes slightly widening as she stared at him. "I asked Chuck for everything he wrote about you. That's how Sam and I learned what Zachariah did to you. That's how Sam and I learned that whenever I rebelled against him, he…" Dean wasn't able to finish his sentence as he looked away and exhaled a shaky breath. "I know everything and if there's someone who should apologize, that's me. Not you."

The hunter looked down at his hands still wrapped around her elbows before gently sliding them down so he could grab her hands. He brought them up in between them and Kate let him do as she watched him quietly. He turned her hands over and rested his thumbs on her palms. The memories of the scars made by her fingernails came back to both of them, but they didn't say anything about it.

"The truth is," she stared in a little voice. "If there's anyone you should blame, that's Zachariah. If you want me to accept your apology, then blame Zachariah and… And make him pay for what he did to all of us."

Dean stared at her for a long moment when a pounding on the other side of the door echoed, making everyone look at the door. Austin went to the door, he opened the peephole and moved the wooden object blocking the door before quickly opening it. Kate pulled her hands away from Dean's when she saw Ellen walking in without Sam.

"Where's Sam?" She immediately asked as she and Dean walked towards her. Ellen looked at Dean and shook her head.

"They took him?" The pregnant woman asked him as she started to panic. "Demons took him? Oh my god. What if they're in here? The demons?"

"Could they get in?" The pastor asked, turning his head towards Kate and Dean.

"No," Dean answered.

"How can you be sure?" The pregnant woman asked.

"I already told you," Kate said, looking over at her. "Those symbols and the salt protect us. They can't get in."

Dean looked at them, clenched his teeth and grabbed a shotgun that was on the table in the center before heading for the door.

"Everybody sit tight. I got to—" He started when Kate spun around to look at him.

"What?" She exclaimed following him and as he put his hand on the doorknob ready to leave, she stopped him by putting her tinier hand on top of his. "You can't go-"

"Sam's out there, of course I gotta go," he told her, frowning.

"Yeah, well, Matt, Rufus and Ellen's daughter are out there, too. But going out there with no plan is not only reckless, it's stupid!" She told him before she firmly but lowly continued. "If we want to save them and to save these people in here, we need a plan."

He turned his gaze to all the people in the room before returning it to Kate who stared at him, expectantly. He watched her for a moment as his brain weighed the pros and the cons of going out there right away to find his brother or drawing up a plan. Although Ellen was a huntress and Kate had done a good job at keeping all of these people safe, he knew that his experience was most likely making him the most able to save them all. These people depended on him; but so did his little brother.

Dean dropped his gaze to Kate's soft hand that was firmly put on top of his and he tried to feel it. He tried to feel that peace and comfort, a simple touch from her could bring him. But, it wasn't there; or at least he couldn't properly feel it. He knew she didn't have any supernatural power to bring this gentle feeling of serenity, but there was no denying that she had a gift of making him feel calm and less on edge. He was certain that he hadn't fantasied these moments with her and that they were all very true and real. However, not feeling it right now was slightly disturbing him. Maybe it was because her hand was so firmly gripping his. Maybe it was because she wasn't trying to comfort him right now. Or, maybe it was because he felt so guilty towards her that he was subconsciously preventing himself from feeling any of these things.

" _No monster deserves a good girl to comfort them,"_ he had told her once.

" _You're not a monster, Dean, and I'm not trying to comfort you. All I'm trying to make you understand is that you are not alone,"_ she had replied with that softness that was so her.

Dean exhaled a long sigh as he looked up to meet Kate's brown orbs, and took his hand off the doorknob making hers drop

"Alright. Let's work on a plan."

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Dean and Ellen were sitting at a table as the huntress recounted him what happened when she was outside with Sam and he listened carefully to every single word she said. He knew that every piece of information about what happened outside could help him find his brother back before something bad happened to him. However, Dean wasn't sure what bad thing he was more worried about: the demons holding his brother as a captive to who they could do all they wished or his brother triumphing over them and ending up drinking their blood. He tried his best not to focus on the second scenario which brought him other bad memories he didn't want to think of at the moment.

"Dean, one of them's in Jo. We gotta get it out without hurting her," Ellen said to Dean before snorting as she recalled a particular thing. "It called me a bitch."

"Bruise a little easy, don't you think?" Dean told her.

"No, that's not what I meant. It called me a black-eyed bitch," Ellen said with confustion as Dean looked at her and considered that information. "What kind of demons are these? Holy water and salt roll right off. My daughter may be an idiot, but she's not stupid. She wears an anti-possession charm. It's all kind of weird, right?"

"Well, you can't be really sure with those stuff. She could have dropped it," he told her as he moved his gaze to Kate who was nodding her head at what the pastor was telling her. He remembered the event that occurred at Bobby's place when they were going to summon that creature and Rufus had been possessed because he had forgotten to put his anti-possession charm back. Or when Bobby got possessed on his way to Sam and Dean's motel room a few days ago because he had dropped his own too.

"I don't think so," Ellen told him, shaking her head. "What's your instinct?"

"My instinct? My instinct is to call Bobby and ask for help. Or Sam," Dean replied before squinting his eyes as he stared at the young brunette. "Or Kaitlin."

"Or Kaitlin?" Ellen asked as Dean stood up and walked up to pastor and the young woman, Ellen followed him.

"Hey," Dean said as he arrived in front of the two. "You know why Rufus came to town?"

"Well," Kate started as she turned to look at him. "It's actually what I was going to talk to you about," she said and Dean gave her look to urge her to continue. "Father Henry here told me that the river ran polluted all of sudden last Wednesday."

"So?" Dean asked, frowning.

"So, according to Austin over there," Kate said with a nod towards the bearded man who approached them. "The demon thing started up last Thursday."

"Anything else? Anything," Dean asked turning his attention to the pastor and the young man.

"Um," Austin started, his eyes going over to look at Kate before returning his attention to Dean. "I told Kate about it, but it's pretty random."

"Random's good," Dean told him.

"Shooting star. Does that count?" Austin told him.

"Shooting star?" Ellen asked, furrowing her brows.

"Real big. Same night. Wednesday," Austin added.

"Well, that definitely counts," Dean said, before going to the bookshelf against the wall nearby the door.

"So, uh, you think that all this comes from outer space?" Austin asked as Dean kept on skimming the books' covers.

"This isn't _X-Files_ , pal," Dean replied, while still searching. "Damn, we're in a Church and there's not one full Bible here?"

"Um, the lady here took it," the pastor said gesturing at Kate. Ellen and Dean looked at her as she went to take it from the corner where she was reading hours before Sam and Dean arrived.

"What are you looking for?" Kate asked, bringing the Bible and handing it to Dean.

"When we were researching at Bobby's, I remember there was a passage that talked about something like fire falling upon a river," he told her, animatedly.

"Oh, well I got ahead of you," she replied with a little smirk on her lips before grabbing the Bible and sitting down at the table where she flipped a few pages as everyone gathered around the table, watching her. "If I'm not mistaken, I think you're talking about this, right?" Kate said to Dean who was standing right behind her chair. He leaned down over her shoulder and read out loud what she was pointing at.

"'And there fell a great star from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell upon the river, and the name of the star was Wormwood. And many men died.' That's what I was talking about, yeah," Dean said, his eyes glued to the lines he had just read.

"Revelation eight ten," the pastor said making everyone look at him. "Miss Kate asked me about it earlier, but… Um, are you really saying that this is about the apocalypse?"

"You could say," Dean replied, still hovering Kate from behind, one hand on top of the table and the other on the back of her chair. "And these specific omens, they're prelude to what?"

"The Four Horsemen," Kate murmured as Dean turned his head to look down at her which also made him notice the closeness of their faces. He took a step back, dropping his hands at his sides as the pastor panicked a little bit.

"Yes, yes, it's the Four Horsemen, but you-you're-"

"Which one rides the red horse?" Dean cut him off.

"War," Kate replied in a little voice, her eyes glued to the Bible as she was hit by the sudden realization that all of this truly was happening. The Apocalypse was happening and the only persons who could stop it were Dean and herself, but they weren't going to. Because siding with the angels to stop the Apocalypse would still cause a lot of deaths and after everything that happened, it was hard to trust them. But, did that mean that they were so powerless that they couldn't do anything to prevent the Apocalypse from taking innocent lives?

"That cherry Mustang parked on Main," the green-eyed hunter said to Ellen who nodded.

"You can't think that a car-" The pastor started.

"It's the way I'd roll. I mean, think about it. It all makes sense. If War is a dude and he's here, maybe he's messing with our heads," Dean explained.

"Turning us on each other," Ellen nodded as she watched him.

"You said Jo called you a black-eyed bitch. They think we're demons, we think they're demons. What if there are no demons at all and we're all just killing each other?" The hunter suggested.

"Wait, just back up. It's the apocalypse?" The pastor said.

"Sorry, Padré," Dean told him.

"I think I need to sit down a little bit," the pastor mumbled as Austin took a chair and helped him sit down.

"Kate," Ellen's voice pulled Kate out of her thoughts as she looked up at the huntress who smiled at her. "Good job."

"Yeah," Kate let out in a breath. Ellen slightly frowned with concern as she scanned the young brunette's face.

"You're alright?"

"Yeah, I just need to splash water on my face," Kate replied, never looking at the woman in the eyes as she stood up and walked up to the tiny bathroom, passing by Dean who looked at her before giving Ellen a questioning look to which she replied with a gesture that told him to leave Kate alone.

Dean turned his head to look at the bathroom's door closing and he swallowed down, because truth be told, he didn't want to leave her by herself.

* * *

When Kate walked out of the bathroom, she saw everyone gathered at the central table and understood that Ellen and Dean were telling them all they had just talked about a few minutes ago. The Apocalypse and the presence of one of the Four Horsemen in town. The few people that she had gathered in this place the day before, seemed to listen to them cautiously although they stared at the two hunters as though they were a crazy duo. There was a time when she would have thought of Dean and Ellen as a crazy duo too. But not today. Not after everything she had seen these past few months.

The young woman advanced towards the table while still remaining a bit away from the little crowd. Dean threw a glance at her while Ellen kept on explaining the situation to the people. He made his way up to her and stopped at her left side, his gaze glued on Ellen who was obviously losing her patience with the pastor who kept panicking and subsequently making everyone panic by telling them what the presence of a Horseman in the area meant.

"You're okay?" Dean asked Kate who crossed her arms on her chest.

"Yeah."

"You sure?" He asked and she moved her head to look up at him. Feeling her gaze on his face, he looked down at her and waited for her to reply.

She shifted her brown gaze to Ellen as she tightened her arms against her chest, "I lied." Dean frowned. "I'm not okay. But, I doubt someone is around here, right now." She took a deep breath and advanced towards the table where the people were starting to animatedly and loudly asking a thousand questions to Ellen who looked desperate at this point.

"Hey, stop," Kate said loudly but they all kept on being louder and more agitated; a real hubbub forming in the room. "Hey, hey, hey!" Kate shouted louder while clapping in her hands and jumping on one spot until everyone's attention was caught as they stopped and stared at her with frowned eyebrows. The two hunters had the same frowning expression on their faces as they looked at the brunette. "Thank you," Kate said as she stopped jumping and clapping in her hands. "Now, that we can all actually hear each other, why don't we be civilized towards Ellen and ask her one question at a time."

There was a short moment of silence before Austin spoke up, "The thing is that I don't get it. First, you said the town was full of demons and now you're saying that there are no demons and war is a guy."

"You believed crazy before," Dean told him as Kate sighed and walked up to Austin.

"If you don't believe us, at least trust us," Kate told him, her brown eyes looking up into his as she rested one hand on his forearm, which Dean couldn't help but notice.

Suddenly, someone hammered on the other side of the door, screaming for them to let him in. "Open up! It's Roger!"

Austin frowned as he walked to the door, checked the peephole before letting the man wearing a suit and glasses in. The man was breathing hard, as if he'd been running, and panic was written all over his face as he spoke to them.

"I saw them, the demons!" He shouted, his eyes looking at everybody, one after one. "They know we're trying to leave. They-they said they're gonna pick us off one by one!"

"Wait wait wait. What?" Dean asked, alarmed by the man's words that didn't make any sense.

"I thought you said there were no demons," Austin said looking at Kate with confusion.

"There's not," Kate told him, snapping her head back to look at the man with glasses on, feeling that something was off with what he was saying.

"Where did you go?" Dean asked Roger.

"I thought someone should go out and see what's going on!"

"Where did you see the demons and what did they say exactly?" Dean asked him.

"We just sit here, we're going to be dead," Austin said, causing Kate to look up at him.

"No, we're not!" Dean told him.

"They're gonna kill us unless we kill them first," Roger exclaimed, causing everyone to look at each other in panic while Dean, Kate and Ellen stared at them.

"Hold on. Hold on," Dean said, holding his hands up to calm everyone.

"No, man, we got people to protect. Alright, the able-bodied go hunt some demons," Austin said picking up a shotgun and handing to Kate.

"No, you don't get it," Kate told him as he forced the shotgun in her arms.

"You don't get it," he told her as she held the weapon in her arms.

"Slow your roll. This is not a demon thing," Dean told him.

"It's the horseman!" Kate exclaimed as Roger frowned, his eyes going over at her as she put the shotgun down on the table.

"Look at their eyes! They're demons!" Roger shouted all of sudden, and when Kate turned to look at him, his eyebrows rose in surprise while everyone just gasped at the fact that Dean and Ellen's eyes were pitch-black. Austin pulled Kate to his side as the pastor held a shotgun up at the two hunters.

"No!" Kate shouted, pushing Austin away and taking a grip of the pastor's shotgun, causing him to fire on the ceiling which made everyone scream.

The back of a shotgun hit Kate hard on the back of the head, causing the young woman to fall straight to the ground. The last thing she heard before blacking out was Dean shouting her name.

* * *

Once Dean and Ellen were out of the Church, they made a few steps away from the building before the man stopped.

"We can't leave Kaitlin behind!"

"Dean," Ellen said, spinning around before advancing towards him. "She'll be okay, we won't."

"They knocked her out!"

"Yeah, but they didn't attack her before she took our defense!" Ellen told him. "For some reason, War hasn't done anything to her but just to you and me. Now, we better move before they come out and kill us!"

* * *

When Kate fluttered her eyes open, she groaned at the throbbing pain she could feel on the back of her head. She lifted her head and looked around to see that she was left on her own in the tiny bathroom. Trying to stand up, she quickly realized that she was tapped to one chair, her hands tightly tied together behind the chair, with an old rope. She frowned as she struggled to free herself but the knots had been made too tight and she only succeeding on burning her wrists with the constant rubbing of the rope.

"Why does it always look so easy in the movies," she muttered to herself, still pulling her hands so she could untie them. She looked around herself to see if there wasn't something that might help her untie her hands, because there was no way she would be able to undo the knots any other way than by cutting the rope. "Of course, no sharp objects in here."

She threw her head back, her eyes closed as she felt a drop of sweat slowly dripping down her neck. "What kind of Church would it have been if there were a knife in here?"

Her eyes shot open as she remembered the little knife Matt had slip in one of her boots before they walked into the town. Looking down at her feet, she managed to put them under the chair in a way that would make her hands able to reach the inside of her boots.

"Come on," she told herself as she tried to grab the knife's handle that she could feel with her fingertips. "Come on…" It seemed impossible, but Kate wasn't one to give up so easily and after almost ten long minutes, Kate finally managed to grip the handle of the knife in between her fingers.

"Yes!" She exclaimed as she pulled the knife out. "Alright, now cutting the rope…" She told herself as she turned the knife, but accidently dropped it on the floor making her groan.

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

When Kate got out of the Church, she couldn't stop mentally cursing at all the movies that made it seem so easy free oneself from being taped to a chair with ropes. Without the knife that she had dropped a total of seven times, she surely would still be in the tiny bathroom at this time.

The sound of an explosion startled the young woman, causing all of her thoughts to vanish and be replaced by the necessary of finding Dean and Ellen.

She looked at her right where she was pretty sure the explosion occurred. She took a few steps towards that direction and wondered if maybe she should have taken a shotgun with her. She quickly shook her head at that thought; there were no demons to shoot at in this area and she was pretty sure that War couldn't be killed by a bullet. All she had to do was find Dean and Ellen, and her instincts were telling her that they would be where the explosion happened.

Taking a deep breath, Kate quietly walked to that direction, her eyes looking everywhere around her until the sounds of shooting and people screaming became audible to her. Understanding that she was getting closer to the place where Dean and Ellen surely were, and maybe with a bit of luck where Matt, Rufus and Sam were, she started to walk faster.

When she spotted a movement from afar, Kate squinted her eyes at the sun before putting her hand up like a shield and finally making out that the movement was actually the group of people she had kept safe in the Church. She could make out the shotguns that they had in hands while they walked behind cars, trying not to be seen by anyone. Kate hesitated on going after them, but she didn't want to risk another hit on the back of her head and even less a salt bullet shot at her. Therefore, the young woman decided to reach the place where the explosion took place, by walking through the backyards.

* * *

"People, cease fire!" Rufus shouted as he went all around the house to stop all the people shooting at the others on the street. Indeed, now that he had just came across Dean who told him what the horseman War was doing, the old hunter understood that everyone needed to stop shooting before the situation got even more critical. He didn't lose time as he ran from one to another, yelling at them to put their shotguns down.

"Stop shooting! Stop!" The old hunter shouted at a man who wouldn't stop, before grabbing his gun and slamming in the head with it to knock him out. "I'm getting too old for this," he told himself before he saw movement in the shrubs.

He frowned as he advanced towards the shrubs, holding the shotgun up just in case he needed to shoot before being shot at. However, his eyebrows unfrowned quickly when he finally got a sight of what was coming from the backyards – or rather who.

"Kate?"

"Rufus!" Kate exclaimed as she lifted her head and saw the old hunter standing a couple of feet away with a shotgun aimed at her. She swiftly held her hands up, "I'm not a demon, I swear I'm not!"

"I know," he told her, lowering the gun, "You don't even have black eyes."

"Neither do you," she replied before slightly frowning as she realized that she had actually seen no one with black eyes in the town. When Matt and she had arrived, everything went crazy within a couple of minutes. They had crossed path with a couple that Matt had claimed to her to be demons even though she hadn't seen their eyes black. And then, everything went too fast, like a flash, as she had went away and gathered a large group of people with her in the Church. For some reason, she hadn't seen one single person with black eyes and it seemed as though no one saw her with black eyes either.

"C'mon, let's get inside," the mustached hunter told her as he reached out and pulled her by the arm.

"Is Matt here? And Sam?" Kate asked, looking up at him as they walked inside the house by the backdoor.

"Yeah, they are and before you ask, they're alright," he replied as they walked through the kitchen and then arrived next to a staircase where a young woman with blond hair spun around and held a shotgun up at them. She quickly lowered it when her brown eyes landed on Rufus and then she glanced at the brunette when gunshots coming from outside appeared.

Rufus pulled Kate down since she didn't have the same reflex than he and the young blond-head.

"Damn it!" A familiar male voice exclaimed from the staircase and when Kate looked up, she saw that it was Matt.

When the gunshots stopped, Rufus stood up and the two young women looked at the dark-haired hunter who descended the stairs. His grey eyes immediately sparkled with relief when he spotted Kate. He had been worried sick about her and would have never forgiven himself if anything happened to her.

"Matt!" Kate exclaimed as he reached down the stairs and she ran to give him a hug while the blonde raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked over at Rufus. "You're okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, hugging her back before she pulled away and he looked down at her to find her brown eyes already looking up at him. "You?" She almost frantically nodded before they pulled completely apart.

"Where are Sam and Dean?" Rufus asked as they all walked to the kitchen where it seemed that no gunshots could get in.

"They just left to find War and stop him," Matt replied.

"I don't get it," the blond-head said, still carrying her shotgun. "Before Mom went back outside, she said that it was War who did all of that, but who's that guy?"

Kate turned her head as she realized who that beautiful blond-haired and brown-eyed girl wearing a military jacket was. Jo Harvelle. When Kate had read the books, she hadn't imagined Jo to look like that. Chuck was to blame since he hadn't described the blond girl that very well, only using a few words to make it understandable that she was a fairly pretty girl and that she got Dean flirting with her more than once. Kate surely hadn't thought Jo to be this pretty and slim; it almost made Kate feel a bit insecure about her looks. And although the situation wasn't the most appropriate for Kate to think about all of this, she couldn't help but want to pull her stomach in just a little bit.

"It's the horseman," Rufus replied, leaning against a counter.

"The horseman?" Jo asked, her brown eyes turning to him. "Wait, from the Four Horsemen?"

"That's what Sam and Dean told me a few minutes ago. He made us all believe that we were fighting demons, so that we can kill each other," Matt explained as he approached Jo who looked at him with a slightly frown expression. "Which is why, we don't shoot at them," he grabbed her shotgun and she frowned, stepping back and pulling the weapon back to her.

"What, we don't defend ourselves, now?"

"We can defend ourselves without having to shoot back at them or making explosions," Matt told Jo who sighed as she gave him the shotgun.

"So, what do we do now? They're still going on at it outside," Jo said as they could still hear the gunshots going on outside.

"We wait," Kate said in a little voice that was loud enough to pull everyone's attention to her.

"Waiting isn't gonna save us or any of these people outside," Jo replied as Kate bit on her bottom lip.

"Yeah, I know, but, they're only shooting at this house and no one is shooting back at them anymore here," she said as Rufus gave a little nod for himself since he had been the one to stop the others from shooting. "And, well, their shotguns aren't loaded forever. They're gonna run out of bullets sooner than later. Besides, Matt, you said Sam and Dean went to stop the Horseman, which means it's only a matter of minutes before all of this stops too."

Rufus, Matt and Jo hummed in approval of Kate's logic, but then the blonde remembered that her mother was still outside. "But, what about mom?" Her brown eyes traveled back and forth between the two men, with concern.

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

Leaning against a car, across the house she was in almost an hour ago, the young brown-haired woman was deeply lost in her thoughts as she kept her distance from all the hunters who were talking nearby that house. The sudden realization of the high number of innocents who passed away in this town in the last couple of days had created a knot of anxiety in her stomach. Indeed, the woman knew that all of these disasters could be prevented if she agreed to work for the angels. And, when her gaze fell to all the blood splattered on the ground in the street, she felt a guilt that almost pushed her to ignore the manipulative and wicked personality of the angels and say yes to them.

"Hey," A familiar voice said, causing the young woman to look up at her left and see the younger Winchester leaning right next to her, against the same car. His eyes were focused on the group of hunters as they went on separate ways. Matt and Rufus going to talk to some of the innocent people who were sitting on a house's flight of stairs, Ellen making her way to Austin who had almost killed her about an hour ago, and Dean and Jo going in the next-door house.

"Hey," Kate simply replied, looking down at his hands that were sunk deep in his pants pockets. She lifted her brown gaze to look at the young man's profile and was saddened by the pensive expression he sported. There was sorrow, pain and guilt in this pensive expression that she truly wished she could just take away. "So, how did you stop War?"

Sam's eyebrows slightly rose before he looked down at her and met her brown eyes with his green-hazel ones. When his brother and he had stopped War, they had quickly come back to check on everyone, but she hadn't stayed with any of the hunters when they had lightly recounted how they had stopped the Horseman. She had gone to check on some of the innocent people, but their aftershock had been too much for Kate who hadn't taken long before needing some time on her own. Sam had noticed the way she had went on for a walk down the street before coming back, only to stay across the street, far from all of them. The young man wondered if it had helped her to be on her own for a few minutes, with nothing but the calm of the almost empty area around her. He wondered if it had helped her sorting her thoughts out, and above all else he wondered if being on his own would help him too.

"We couldn't kill him, so we took his ring since that was the thing that gave him power," Sam replied.

"He simply let you took his ring off his finger?" She asked and he tilted his head.

"Not really, we had to take off his finger to get his ring," he replied and she nodded before stopping and scrunching her face up in a grimace.

"You cut his finger off?"

"Yeah," he replied, a corner smile appearing on his lips at the disgusted expression on her face. She shuddered before turning her head back to the house across the street. "He mentioned you."

"What do you mean, he mentioned me?"

"He asked us who you were. He wanted to know how you could be immune to his tricks," Sam told her, glancing down at her. "I don't think he knew you weren't from here, though. And, then, well, he disappeared."

"So, he's not dead?"

"I don't think so," he replied, his voice was low as he slightly frowned and returned his gaze to the innocent people across the street. They were obviously all moved with everything that happened, and Sam couldn't help but feel even worse as he unintentionally released a heavy sigh. Kate glanced up at him and found herself unable to say anything comforting as silence settled around them for a few seconds that seemed longer, before he spoke up again. "You remember when you told me about choices? How you felt like a, uh, a baby, because you couldn't make choices and you needed someone to tell you what to do?"

"Yeah," Kate softly whispered.

"I think I desperately need someone to tell me what to do," he told her in a little voice that cracked in the end.

When he turned his head to look down at her with his teary eyes, Kate saw the weight of the world painfully crushing down his shoulders. She immediately turned around, went on tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him down to her so she could hug him properly and tightly. She could feel his shaky breath and knew that he was struggling not to cry. Biting on her bottom lip to not let herself cry either, she closed her eyes and brought one hand up to caress the back of his head as he dropped his head on top her shoulder.

* * *

"What are you looking for?" The young blonde-haired woman asked as she and the dirty-blonde-haired hunter entered the empty next-door house after all of the hunters talked about what happened in this area and what to do next.

"Just a few water bottles," he just replied, walking in the hallway, his green eyes searching for the kitchen that he finally found at the end of the hallway; the architecture of these kind of houses never too different from one to another.

"You know, you look older, Dean," she told him in a soft voice, leaning against the kitchen's doorway as she watched him opening the fridge and taking out all the few bottles of water that were in there. She couldn't help but check him out from top to bottom as an appreciative smile appeared on her lips. Dean Winchester was still as gorgeous and attractive than the last time she saw him.

"Thanks," he simply replied as he made big steps towards the opposite of the fridge, where he could see a wicker basket on a little stool. He grabbed it and went back to the counter where he had settled down the bottles.

"So, this is really the Apocalypse, huh?" She asked him as he packed the wicker basket with the bottles and she grabbed some empty bottles from another basket.

"Yeah."

"It explains all these little disasters I've heard on the news," she lightly scoffed as she approached the tap and started filling the empty bottles with fresh water. Dean glanced up at her, from her blonde locks to her very clear skin which emphasized the pinkness of her cheeks and lips, the hunter almost scanned the young woman's profile. When she spun her head towards him, her brown eyes took him apart. They seemed to be lacking of something peculiar; something that could keep him hypnotized for hours. Something that a curly brown-haired woman seemed to own. "What?"

He looked down at the water bottles as she stared at him with a quirked eyebrow and a little smirk. "You're hunting with your mom, now."

"Yeah, and before you start a whole speech about-"

"I'm not gonna start a speech," he cut her off putting in the wicker basket the last bottle before taking the bottle she had filled and capping it close. "I'm just wondering why?"

"Why?" She asked, turning off the tap and reaching for the cap to close it too.

"Yeah, you shouldn't drag your mother to hunts," he told her and she sighed as she handed him the bottle and he put it with the others.

"I don't have any choice," she replied. "She won't let me hunt on my own. And, you know, I gotta do this."

Dean looked at her for a moment as she looked away, "You're young, Jo. You could do so much more and I'm sure your father would still be very proud of you."

"But, I wouldn't feel as close to him than when I'm hunting," she told him, her brown eyes lifting to meet his green eyes. "Besides, telling me I'm young is a very bad excuse. How old is that Kate, huh? She's definitely not much older than me and yet she's a hunter."

Dean grabbed the wicker basket, his brows furrowed together, "She's not a hunter."

"Really?" Jo asked as he walked out of the kitchen and she followed him. "She surely looks like one." Dean didn't say anything as they walked up to the front door and she pulled it open.

When the two hunters walked out, they both made a few steps before stopping, their gazes spotting Kate as she wrapped her arms around Sam and pulled him down for a tight hug.

"Then, who is she, if she's not a hunter?" Jo asked, curious as to what the brunette's connection to all these other hunters was.

"She's just someone who cares too much," Dean replied, his green eyes never drifting away from the brown-head who was standing on her tip-toes as she hugged his little brother who slowly put his arms around her to hug her back.

"She seems cozy with Sam," Jo commented, throwing a glance at Dean only to see him displaying a serious look as he stared at Sam and Kate hugging across the street. She looked back and forth at the two hugging and then at Dean, before frowning as she started to wonder what exactly was the relationship between Kate and the Winchester brothers. "I suppose you wanna give out the bottles for everyone?"

Dean didn't reply, his gaze still glued to Sam and Kate as he noticed Sam's hands on her back, gripping at the young woman's flannel while one of her hand seemed to rub up and down his back.

"Dean?" Jo said and he blinked a few times before turning his head to Jo who was staring at him with a little smile. "I can give out the bottles if you want?" He nodded at her as she put her hands on top of his before slowly sliding them down and taking the basket with her. She glanced up at his face to see his gaze had already returned to the hugging duo.

Jo turned around and descended the flight of stairs as she made her way to the other house where everyone else was gathered, in front and inside of it. Her brown gaze didn't miss to look over at the brunette and the young Winchester as they slightly pulled apart and Kate slipped her hands up to cup Sam's cheeks as she told him something while looking straight into his eyes. Jo couldn't make out what she was telling him, but the heartfelt smile that cracked on Sam's lips was impossible to not see, even from her distance. Jo threw a glance at Dean to see him still staring at his little brother and the brunette, when someone bumped into Jo, she spun her head to that person.

"Sorry," Matt said to her before passing her by as he made his way to the older Winchester standing at the porch of the next door house.

When the dark-haired hunter arrived at the end of the flight of stairs of the next-door house, he stared up at Dean for a short while before glancing at Kate who was talking to Sam who pulled his arms away from her body and dropped them at his sides while nodding at whatever she was telling him, with her hands holding his cheeks so that he wouldn't break the eye contact.

Matt returned his grey eyes to Dean and he couldn't help the light huff that escaped his mouth before he called out for him. "Winchester!"

Dean looked over at him before slowly walking down the stairs with his bow-legs, "Myers."

Matt half-smirked at the hard tone the other hunter used to reply. "Just wanted to tell you that it's time for Kate and me to go."

"Already?" Dean asked with almost squinted eyes.

"We got a long road to make," Matt told him to which Dean replied with a simple nod. "You're going back by Bobby's sides?"

"Yeah, I suppose. He needs someone to drive him back to Sioux Falls in a couple of days," Dean replied as he glanced over Matt's shoulder to look at Kate and Sam who were now crossing the street, only to be stopped by that Austin guy.

"Well," Matt said, glancing behind himself to see Kate squeezing Sam's arm before letting him go up to the house where the other hunters were, leaving Kate to talk with the army guy. "You say hi to the old man for me then," he said to Dean as he looked at him before spinning around, ready to walk towards Kate.

"Matt, wait," Dean called, causing him to turn around with a questioning look. "Next time, you come across a hunt, don't bring her with you." Dean's voice was stern and his eyes were severe. "I asked you to protect her, if you can't do that, then-"

"I promised you, I'll protect her," Matt interrupted him. "And I am protecting her."

"Bringing her here instead of dropping her at some safe place, ain't protecting her," Dean told him harshly and Matt stared at him in silence. "If you can't do that properly, I can find another hunter," Dean started to walk.

"Like you?" Matt asked, causing Dean to stop by his side. The green-eyed hunter slightly turned his head as he looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "No offense, but if you asked me in the first hand, doesn't that mean you can't protect her?"

Dean clenched his jaw, "Just make sure to keep your promise," he told him before walking towards the other house with firm steps.

Dean was already aware of how he hadn't been able to protect the young brunette the way he should have, but he didn't need someone else to remind him of that. Especially not someone like Matt whom he still didn't know much about and had such a hard time to really get along with. But still, he had been told many times how much of a reliable hunter Matt Myers, and since Kate had spent a lot of time with him, Dean knew that the young man would be able to protect her. And, although no critical harm had been done to her, Dean still believed that Matt had made a mistake by bringing her along to this place. And as Dean almost arrived by Kate and Austin, his gaze met hers and he didn't let go until he passed them by and walked into the house, deciding that he wouldn't let Matt make that mistake twice.

Kate's brown eyes stared at Dean's back as he walked up the few stairs and got into the house, never looking back. Aside from asking her if she was okay when he had come back after stopping War with his brother, Dean had been far from talkative with her. He had spent his time talking with the other hunters, spending more or less time with each of them, and hadn't even looked at her more than three times. She started to feel as though there was something other than just what happened with Zachariah, that was bothering him to the point where he wanted to have the least interaction with her as possible.

"Kate?"

The young woman turned her head back to the man she was talking to, "Um, sorry. You were saying?"

"I was wondering how everything here is gonna get sorted out," Austin told her. "No doubt the FBI and the CIA are soon gonna get down here soon."

"Yeah, they probably gonna get here," Kate just said, her voice gentle before she glanced down at the bottle of water he had given her a few minutes ago.

"You're not like them," he commented and she raised her head to look at him with a bit of confusion. "Those hunters… You're not like them."

"That's because I'm not a hunter," she replied with a little smile.

"You're not?" He asked her, his eyebrows frowned and she shook her head in response before looking down at her fingers around the bottle. He scanned her soft face for a short moment before turning his gaze to the street covered with stains of blood that reminded him of the two times he went to fight for his country. He set his jaw, trying to shake the hard memories of war far away. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

Kate lifted her head and stared at him until he moved his head towards her and looked down at her. As she didn't reply, his eyebrows slowly knit together in puzzlement.

The thing was that Kate was still very uncertain as to what she was supposed to do.

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

"So, pit stop at Mount Doom?" Dean asked Sam as he was holding up the Horseman's ring and examining it. Dean looked up at Sam sitting across from him at the picnic table of a resting area not very far away from River Pass.

Sam remained silent for a few seconds, wondering how he could even begin to say the things he needed to tell his brother. Taking a deep breath, Sam linked his fingers and rested them on top of the table before he started. "Dean-"

"Sam, let's not," Dean stopped him as he put the ring down on the table.

"No, listen," Sam told him as he was determined to have this talk with Dean whether he liked it or not. "This is important. I know you still don't trust me." Dean looked away, still not ready to have this kind of conversation with his little brother. "Just now, I realized something as well. I don't trust me either."

This last sentence made Dean look up at Sam as he was quite taken aback by the revelation. And, that was this sentence and the way Sam looked at him, that had Dean realize that he needed to hear this as much as Sam needed to say it. They had both accumulated so much secrets, actions, words, anger and pain lately that it was starting to weigh too much for them to keep on going.

"From the minute I saw that blood, the only thought in my head..." Sam continued, his hazel eyes looking away before pausing. He looked down and licked his lips, before looking up at his brother. "And I tell myself it's for the right reasons, that my intentions are good, and it, it feels ok for a while, you know? But I think, underneath...I just miss the feeling. I know how messed up that sounds, which means I know how messed up I am. Thing is, the problem's not the demon blood, not really. I mean, I, what I did, I can't blame the blood or Ruby or...anyone. The problem's me. Even if Katie or Bobby tells me otherwise, I know they're just trying to be kind. But, I don't even deserve kindness, because the problem really is me. How far I'll go. There's something so broken in me that it would...would push me so far over the edge, and it scares the hell out of me, Dean. In the last couple of days, I caught another glimpse…"

Dean scanned his brother's face for a few seconds. This revelation had turned out to be more of a confidence at the end, and Dean felt almost uncomfortable to know that much of Sam's struggle and pain, and not being able to change any of that. Moreover, he could read in between the lines of his little brother's speech and he knew Sam was trying to tell him something else.

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm in no shape to be hunting," Sam simply replied as his brother looked away. "I need to be on my own. I need to clear my mind and to have some time on my own," he continued, remembering what he had talked about with Kate earlier. "Because, even though I know I need you to tell me what to do so that I can avoid making a choice that will be a mistake. I need to step back, 'cause I'm dangerous. Maybe it's best we just...go our separate ways."

"Well, I think you're right," Dean replied after a short pause, his voice conveying the pain that this decision brought him.

Sam's head shot up in suprise. "I was expecting a fight," Sam replied, confused. "I mean, when I told Kate that, she told me not to leave you. And, she tried to convince me that we should stick together, no matter what. And I was kinda expecting you to do the same…" Sam trailed off. Looking at his brother and seeing how much Sam wanted, needed Dean to fight for him broke his heart even further. He knew what needed to happen, even if it killed him to allow this. Sam needed to fight this battle alone, he couldn't lean on Dean anymore and pretend like nothing had gone wrong.

Dean sighed as he looked away, "No. She can't understand, Sam. She can't understand that when we are together, I-I can't focus. I spend more time worrying about you than about doing the job right. And I just, I can't afford that, you know?" Sam nodded at him. "Not now."

"I'm sorry, Dean," Sam whispered, his teary eyes looking at his brother in sincere regret.

"I know you are, Sam," Dean replied, nodding. As Sam stood up, Dean looked at him, feeling guilty to let him go even though he knew he had to. "Hey, do you, uh, wanna take the Impala?"

"It's okay," Sam replied before taking a few steps. He stopped, swallowed down and turned around to look at his freckled-face brother who was already looking up at him. "Take care of yourself, Dean."

Dean shifted his gaze, not being able to look at his little brother now that he knew those were gonna be the last words they'd exchange before going on separate ways," Yeah, you too, Sammy."

Once Sam turned around to walk to the Impala, Dean watched his every move, trying to keep in mind that their separation was necessary if he wanted to keep doing his job well. However, it still hurt him as Sam grabbed his backpack and duffle bag out of the back seat and walked over to a pickup truck parked nearby. Dean didn't blink once as his gaze followed his brother who got into the pickup's passenger seat before the pickup drove away.

Dean let out a shaky breath when the pickup was gone, and he dropped his gaze to where his little brother was sitting across from him just a few minutes ago. Gulping down a rising feeling of regret, Dean thought back to Kate, his Kate, who always tried so hard to fix their broken pieces.

" _All I'm trying to make you understand is that you are not alone,"_ her soft voice echoed in his mind.

"Well, now I am," he told himself as he shifted his gaze to the landscape full of big green trees and high mountains that made him feel more lonely and small and downright insignificant than he had ever felt before.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

It was already night and the country road was entirely empty as Matt drove his car, his right hand on the steering wheel and his left one laying on the opened window of the door. The grey-eyed hunter had switched on the radio about fifteen minutes ago when he understood that the brunette sitting on the passenger seat on his right wouldn't say a word. He had thrown a few glances at her, only to find her gazing out the window with a thoughtful expression. He knew her far too well to know not to immediately ask her what was wrong with her. Indeed, whenever he did that she would just avoid all of his questions and pretend that everything was alright. Moreover, he had been told on several occasions that when a girl looks upset or thoughtful, he should just give her some time before badgering her with questions.

That's what _she_ had told him when they were in college years ago...

He closed his eyes for a moment and saw her blonde hair swinging in the air as her joyful big hazel eyes looked at him, and he could almost hear her laughter and smell her strawberries' perfume.

" _Matt, you silly boy,"_ he remembered her sweet voice telling him.

" _That's really offensive you know,"_ he had told her.

" _Maybe, but at least, you're_ _ **my**_ _silly boy,"_ she had said to which he had replied with a kiss.

Not three seconds had passed as he opened his eyes. He frowned, bringing his left hand up to the back of his left shoulder as he rubbed the old scar that was there. Then, he pulled his phone out of his jacket's pocket and looked down at the date that displayed on the screen. It was soon gonna be one month since he last saw _her_. He wondered if he could manage to have some free time after seeing Professor Visyak in San Francisco, so that he could visit her.

Putting his phone back into his pocket, he sighed and glanced at Kate again. He reached for the radio, switched it off as the reporter was announcing another disaster that happened not far from the Indian Ocean. The brunette turned her head to look at him and he took that as his chance to finally get her to talk.

"You don't mind? I'm getting tired of hearing all this bad news," he told her and she gave a little nod before returning her attention back to out the window.

As silence settled back in the car, Matt started to wonder if he should wait again before speaking up, but she sorted this out for him as her voice rose up after being so quiet for so long.

"You're not mad at me for not telling you about the Apocalypse, right?"

"Well, that's a big thing I surely would have appreciated if you had warned me about earlier. But, I get it, you didn't want to talk about it since the Winchesters were involved," he replied, remembering what Sam and Dean had told him, Rufus and the Harvelles about the Apocalypse.

"What did Dean tell you when he asked you to keep me safe?" She asked him, her gaze still glued to the outside as he glanced at her.

"Not much," he replied with a light shrug. "He just said that you'd be safer with me than with him and his brother. And he made me promise to protect you no matter what. Which is stupid, since we both know I would already do that without him even asking."

Kate turned her head to look at him, Ellen's voice echoing in the back of her head.

" _Because, I know the boy and he ain't one to risk an innocent's life by dragging them around on hunts."_

"Thanks," Kate told him, causing him to turn his head with a taken aback expression. "You're always so good to me even after you find out that I kept important things from you... And you're always supporting me and helping me."

"It's not big deal," he replied, shrugging.

She softly smiled as she watched the profile of that modest and humble man for a moment. His skin was a bit clearer than Dean's, he didn't have one single freckle at all and while his nose was pretty similar to Dean's, his lips were thinner and less pink than Dean's. She started to wonder why she was comparing his features to Dean Winchester's when she moved her gaze to his dark hair and noticed that it was starting to get longer which inevitably reminded her of Sam's hair.

"You never really explained me why he thinks you're safer around me than him and Sam, though," Matt said, genuinely curious. "And why you need to be hidden from Heaven."

"Um," she started, wondering how she could tell him without betraying the brothers by saying things about them that they certainly wouldn't want her to say. She decided to ignore his first question for the moment as she answered to the second. "Angels want to use me as a weapon to end the Apocalypse," she blurted out, causing grey eyes to snap at her in a shock that she didn't remember seeing anywhere before.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Hopefully you enjoyed this second chapter that was beta-read by the beautiful 'Igotzapped' ! Like usual, you did an amazing job, thank you darling :)**

 **And, I also wanna thank the two guests, HaRose and klandgraf2007 for leaving such sweet reviews on the previous chapter ! You guys made my day :)!  
**

 **If you got some time, leave a little review to tell me what you liked or didn't like in this chapter and even what you think I should change or keep.**

 **Take care,**

 **A.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter contains elements from the episode '** _ **Free to be me and you**_ **' (5x03) and the episode '** _ **The End**_ **' (5x04).**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 _ **Two days later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **University of San Francisco.**_

It was a bright sunny day that wasn't extremely hot, but was still very hot enough for most of the people in the area to take off their jackets and walk around with only a t-shirt on and even a pair of shorts for some of them. Sunglasses were the item that everyone displayed on their noses - everyone but Kate who didn't own a pair of sunglasses at all.

Squinting her eyes as she stared at the tall grey-eyed hunter while he spoke with a couple of students who gave him the direction for what he was looking for, Kate tightened her high ponytail before dropping her right hand on her shoulder bag. She had managed to hang her long-sleeved shirt on it after she had taken it off so she could have just her black t-shirt on. And even though Matt had liked the resemblance of their clothing - black jeans and t-shirts, and even black heels for Kate and black sneakers for Matt – Kate wished she would have put on a pair of shorts before leaving the motel that morning. She didn't know that this first day of April would have been this hot, but then again, although she knew California to be rather hot at that time of the year, she had never visited the place before to experience its weather herself.

When the dark-haired hunter finished his conversation with the couple of students, he headed back to Kate and his lips curved into a tiny smile at the way her eyes were squinted, "You sure you don't want my sunglasses?"

"I'm sure. So you got the place where she's giving her conference?"

"Yep. She's in the third building over there," he pointed to one of the many high and impressive buildings that made up the campus and they immediately walked towards it. They passed by many students chilling on the grass, some young men playing with a ball while young women were sunbathing. "Did you do that back in University?"

"Mmh?" Kate hummed, looking up at him in question.

"Did you lay down on the grass and tan with your friends?"

"Oh, um, not really," she replied. "And certainly not on the first day of April. Actually, Paris usually starts to get really sunny around mid-April."

"So, no sunbathing on your campus?"

"No. But I've been dragged to some parks to study outside and I ended up getting tanned unintentionally."

"Doesn't sound like you had fun," he commented her dull tone as they arrived in front of the building and he pulled the door open.

She walked in and he followed her, "Well, no it wasn't that bad, actually." They walked down the hallway and Kate glanced up at him as he slid his sunglasses up into his hair. "What about you?"

"Me?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Did you play soccer or football back in College?"

"Actually, no," he replied, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So what did you do?" She asked before he pointed at a door.

"Other things," he shrugged.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked with an amused chuckle as she studied his profile. She noticed him swallowing down as an almost serious expression washed over his face. "You know what? Just… Never mind, okay?" She gently told him which caused him to look down at her, his eyebrows lightly frowned in surprise.

"Kate-" Matt started when she noticed a sign nearby an open door.

 **Professor Eleanor VISYAK. Conference: 'The Middle Ages in the Modern World.'**

"Hey, it's here," Kate cut off Matt as she pointed at the sign before walking towards the open door right next to it.

She threw a glance inside the auditorium, hesitating on whether to get in or not. But, when she felt a hand on her mid-back, gently pushing her in, she turned her face to look up at Matt who gave her a nod indicating her to just go in. They both quietly walked in and he pulled his hand away. Their eyes automatically noticed the crowd sitting in the auditorium and listening with full attention at the Professor who was talking in a mic. Kate was surprised when her eyes landed on Professor Visyak. She didn't expect her to be a beautiful blond-haired woman who gave off so much confidence and elegance. The way she stood and talked made her think of Doctor Parks. And, even though Professor Visyak seemed to be a bit younger than Doctor Parks, Kate couldn't help but think that they shared this very distinct grace when they spoke so eloquently. The young brunette couldn't help but wonder how this professor had met Bobby. She didn't look like the kind of woman to get involved with a man not wearing a suit 24/7.

The moment Professor Visyak turned her face towards Matt and Kate, the latter was surprised to see her looking straight at Matt and giving him a slight smirk before going back to her speech. A frown appeared on Kate's face as she looked up at the young hunter. When he looked down at her, she gave him a questioning look.

"What's wrong?" He whispered to her.

"Didn't you see the smirk she gave you?" She whispered back and he let out a light chuckle.

"It's not what you think."

"Oh really? Because for me it looks like she either flirted with you from across the room or she knows you," she whispered.

"Well, it's the second one," he told her and her eyes went round at that revelation.

"You never told me you knew her," she accused him, still whispering.

"I don't know her like Bobby does," he replied. "She just helped me for a couple of hunts, that's it."

"Still, you never mentioned knowing her even when we were in Maine," she told him as she remembered telling him back when they were looking for that portal in Maine that the manuscript she had was actually Professor Visyak's document.

"Well, there are quite a lot of things you don't tell me either," he whispered back to her before turning his attention back to Professor Visyak.

Kate looked at him, a bit taken aback by his sharp reply. But, she knew he was right. From the very start, she had been very secretive with him and he must have noticed it even before he found out that she came from another universe. He must have known that she had kept a lot of things hidden from him and that must have pushed him into not telling her some things too. However, the young brunette felt bad about keeping so much from him. She trusted him with her life and wished she could make him understand that all those secrets she had kept from him were always made in the best of intentions.

* * *

Once Professor Visyak finished her conference and everyone in the room started to file out of the packed hall, Matt gently grabbed Kate's elbow and made her follow him up to the stage. The blond Professor was gathering her brown bag and her light blue jacket when she saw the two approaching her.

Her lips curled into a smile that almost looked like another smirk, and her eyes sparkled with recognition. "Matthew Myers. What a surprise to see you here."

"Professor Ellie Visyak," he gave a subtle nod before she let her blue eyes wander to Kate standing by his side with her lips pressed together as she watched the Professor with no idea of what to say. "This is Kate Anderson. I think I'm right when I say you've heard of her."

"Of course," Professor Visyak let out, her eyes automatically filling with sparkling fascination as she stared at the young brunette. "Bobby's little protégée from another world, right?"

"Yes, Professor," Kate nodded. "That's me."

"Please call me Ellie," the blonde told her as she put her jacket on her arm and grabbed her bag packed with files.

"I suppose Bobby Singer called you to tell you about Kate and I coming, right?" Matt asked as an old man approached them.

"Excuse me," the old man said passing by Matt and Kate as he looked up at the blond woman in her white and blue suit. "Professor Visyak, may I invite you for lunch so we can discuss your conference of today?" The old man asked and she gave him an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, but I already have promised to show these two youngsters around campus for a friend," she told him and he bowed before leaving. "You saved me. I've been avoiding that old man for two weeks now," she told Matt and Kate before she made her way towards another door and they followed her. "He's been coming to all of my conferences and asking me out for lunch or dinner afterwards, and I've been running out of excuses. Thank God, I won't see him anymore; it's my last conference here."

Kate threw an amused glance up at Matt who responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?" Ellie asked as they walked out the room and found themselves in an almost empty hallway. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Matt."

"Bobby asked me to bring Kate here so you could help us with her problem," He simply replied.

"I've already given everything I've got to Bobby. Didn't he share with you?"

"He did," Kate replied, causing Ellie to look at her. "No offense, but it wasn't really useful."

Professor Visyak stopped in track and spun around, her blue eyes staring at Kate with an indescribable expression. It seemed as though Kate had hurt her feelings by telling her this, or maybe she had slightly angered her. She eyed the young brown-head up and down, before deeply breathing in, her lips pursed for a moment.

"Everything I've given you was useful. No offense, but you just don't know how to use the information provided," she told her before looking up at Matt as he spoke up.

"I've seen the manuscript, and honestly that portal in Maine seems like a bit too dangerous while there are other ways to send her back home."

"I'm aware of that," Ellie immediately replied. "But, I've also given Bobby information on another kind of spell that might work months ago."

"Are you talking about the one with lamb's blood and the bones of a lesser saint?" Kate asked and the Professor nodded at her. "Well, um, that one causes a few problems. We're not sure if I'll be sent in the right universe and in the right era."

"It is a delicate one for sure," Professor Visyak agreed. "But, I believed you could study the documents I've sent you through Bobby, so you could find a way to go beyond those tiny obstacles."

"Tiny obstacles?" Kate half-scoffed. "I don't wanna sound rude, but I've studied your books and your manuscript and none of them showed me how to go beyond those 'tiny obstacles' that can send me in another universe different from mine at a time when dinosaurs ruled the world."

Ellie watched Kate's soft face for a few seconds, surprised that a girl who looked so sweet and innocent would talk back to her like that. For sure, this young woman was stronger than what she looked like. Ellie's red lips curled up before she gave a bright smile and shook her head, "I'm sorry, you're right. It's not a game we're talking about here, and I should have been more thoughtful of the words I use."

Kate was taken aback by the apology, but she also felt bad for being rude to the woman, which was pretty unlikely her, unless she was in a really bad mood. "It's alright, it's me. I don't know why I kinda lost my temper. I'm really sorry."

"Does she always apologize for pointing out something right?" Ellie asked, looking up at Matt.

"It happens rather often, yeah," Matt replied with a little smile as Kate lifted her brown gaze up to give him a playful glare. He shifted his grey eyes back to Ellie, "The thing is that we found another way to send her back home. It's a spell to summon a creature."

"What creature?" Ellie asked, her brows furrowing.

"Um, the Opener of the Way," Kate replied and Professor Visyak looked at her with eyes slightly going round.

"Yog-Sothoth. From H.P. Lovecraft's writings," Matt added.

"Lovecraft?" Ellie breathed out, a mix of fear and shock painted in her face all of sudden as she stared up at Matt.

"Yeah," Kate whispered gently. "I know it sounds weird, but Matt found it in a book that seems as legit as the things you've given us, so-"

"So, we need to go to my office, right now," Professor Visyak told her in a stern tone.

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **University of San Francisco. Professor Visyak's Office.**_

Recounting everything to Professor Visyak without mentioning any of the things that Kate was sure she had to keep for herself, had turned out to be much easier than she thought. She had managed to explain concisely and clearly everything without saying that Sam and Dean Winchester had triggered the Apocalypse or that Haven wanted to use her as a weapon. She had even succeeded on not telling her that an angel had been the one to stop her from summoning the Opener of the Way the last time. Just like Ellie, Matt had watched her all along her recounting, not saying a word until she was finished and he then started to explain how he had found out about the book written by that David Ackers. He explained how in that book, the writer talked about three powerful entities linked together by an unknown but definitely important bound. Ellie listened to him carefully as he told her that Lovecraft's fictional character, Yog-Sothoth, turned out to not be that fictional as he was one of these three entities that appeared in Ackers' book. According to Matt's researches, Yog-Sothoth held the keys of the different universes and was thereby the most plausible creature able to help Kate go back to her universe. The young man had then pulled the book out of his bag and had flipped the pages before handing it to Ellie so she could read herself some of the passages that had caught his attention the most.

After a few minutes of reading, Ellie looked up, exhaling a long sigh as she pushed herself in her black leather chair.

"So, what do you think?" Matt asked, sitting on the seat next to Kate as they both watched the professor sitting across of them behind her desk.

She looked at Matt as she put the book down on her desk, "As far as I'm concerned, this Ackers doesn't seem to be a swindler."

"I've done some researches about him, but found very little, aside from the fact that he belonged to a sort of club to which he dedicated most of his life," Matt told her.

"Got the name of that club?" Ellie asked as she slid the book to him.

"No," Matt shook his head as Kate looked back and forth at them. "And, he died in 1958, so there's no way to ask him."

"What about his grand-son? You said his grandson published the book."

"That's all he did. For him, it was just the result of his grandpa's imagination," Matt explained. "But, the minute I found this, I understood that it meant Lovecraft's writings about dimensions were-"

"Were nothing but work of fiction," Ellie finished for him as she stood up. Both Matt and Kate frowned as they looked at the Professor who walked around her desk.

"Ellie," Matt started, confused before she cut him off.

"Lovecraft was an author, nothing more and nothing less. If you want Kate to go back to her universe you should focus on real facts and not fictional books," she said before going to the door as Kate noticed that she looked a bit agitated ever since they mentioned Lovecraft. It was as though Ellie knew something about Lovecraft they didn't. "Now, if you please, I have to-"

"What is it with you and Lovecraft?" Kate asked, causing Ellie to freeze abruptly in front of the closed door of her office with her arm reached out to the doorknob.

"What kind of question is that?" Ellie asked in an obvious fake scoff as she turned around to look at the brunette who stood up.

"Ever since we told you about Lovecraft, you've been acting quite weird," Kate accused as Matt observed Ellie and realized it was true. "I mean, I don't know you, but it's like you know something you don't wanna tell us."

"That's rubbish," Ellie replied, her blue eyes looking away as her cheeks turned a bit red. Matt frowned at that as he stood up and approached the blond woman.

"Ellie, if you know something. Please," he gently told her, his eyes pleading her to speak.

"I…" She started before glancing at Kate with a look that made the young brunette frown. She recognized that look. It was the kind of look that you had when you were facing an inner dilemma. Kate understood right then that whatever Ellie was hiding, it was something big. "What you need to understand is that Lovecraft's writings aren't going to help you go back to your universe. However, the manuscript I've given you," she said before returning nearby her desk to take the book that Matt had put down. "And, this book, might both be very helpful. Lovecraft wrote some things that are true, only in a theoretical sense. Although, not all of his writings were correct, of course. He only ever dabbled in inter-dimensional travel, and at that it was only ever second hand experiences from survivors driven mad by their experiences. How do you think he ever came up with Cthulhu?" Kate and Matt stared at each other as the professor continued. "While most of the theories and stories from survivors are true, they are also very dangerous to even attempt, much less preform successfully," she said as she flipped the pages of the ' _Collection of Escapades'_ by David Ackers until she found the pages she had read earlier.

"So, there really is a portal in Maine?" Kate asked.

"That portal should be a very last resort," Ellie told her, her voice almost stern, looking up from the book. "This portal can lead you to a dimension where there are other portals leading to other universes. And only the universe you belong in will open its door for you. It sounds easy, but it's not. That place full of portals is also full of monsters and other creatures you couldn't even imagine in your wildest nightmares." Staring at Kate, she pushed the book aside and started to stack the piles of papers on her desk. "On top of all of that, you would be completely on your own, lest someone or something get sent back to your universe with you."

"Of course it would be like that," Kate lightly scoffed, dropping her eyes on the desk as she nodded to herself. There always seemed to be something complicating the solutions they found.

"The reason I gave you that manuscript is because it talks about the other and also safer ways to travel through dimensions. You should never go through that portal in Maine. Whatever happens, you should never open that portal," Ellie said in a stern tone as Kate looked up at her and immediately met her blue eyes full of seriousness.

"It's Purgatory, isn't it?" Matt asked from his spot, a few feet away from the two women. Ellie moved her blond-head to look at him. "I've tried translating the name of that place, but the manuscript was kinda vague about it. So, I did some research and everything I found made me think that it could be Purgatory."

"Yes," Ellie said in a little voice before clearing her throat. "It is what we call Purgatory. But, this place has to remain closed. I insist on that-"

"We're not gonna open it," Matt reassured her, holding his hands up to stop her. "We want you to help us with the safer ways to get her back home. The last time we tried to summon the Opener of the Way, we got attacked. Something doesn't want Kate to go back."

"What do you mean something?" Ellie asked, frowning.

"Angels," Kate spoke up causing the blond-haired woman to look at her. "Angels don't want me to go. The reason's not important, though," she added when Ellie questioned her with her eyes. "What's important is what they told me. 'The doors are locked'."

"But not forever," Matt said and Kate glanced up at him. She remembered his reaction when she had told him that the demon attack back at Bobby's when they were trying to summon the Opener of the Way was actually the result of an angel not wanting her to leave this universe. Although not a faithful person, Matt had looked more shocked than ever to find out that angels could be as much dicks as demons if not more.

"Still," Kate just said as she returned her brown gaze to Ellie.

Matt folded his arms on his chest and shifted his grey gaze to Ellie, "We need you to help us find the safest way to send her back home."

"You've already found them," Ellie told him as she held up David Ackers' book up.

"Yeah, but like we just told you, we had some troubles summoning the Opener of the Way the last time," he replied with a light tilt of the head.

"Well, he's not the only entity mentioned in here, is he?" Ellie said and Kate frowned.

"I don't really want to summon the Cleaner after what happened with him the last time I saw him," Kate replied and Ellie looked at her with surprise.

"You saw the Cleaner?"

"Um, yeah," Kate nodded. "Long story short, he's not really fond of me. But, he's also the first one who told me that the doors between the universes were locked."

Ellie watched her for a moment before shaking her head, "Well, there's still one entity out of the three that you can try summoning."

"Chronos?" Matt asked, confused as to how the god of Time could help them with Kate's problem.

"Yes," Ellie replied. "It is explained in here that the Cleaner, Yog-Sothoth and Chronos are bound to all of time and space. All we have to do is find the manuscripts in which Chronos is mentioned as being linked to Yog-Sothoth and the Cleaner to gather the maximum of information about him."

"And then we can summon him?" Matt asked her.

"No summoning until we know everything about him by heart," Ellie told him.

"But, how is Chronos gonna help me get back to my universe?" Kate asked, confusion written all over her facial features.

"I was more thinking that he could bargain with his friends to see if you could be sent back to your universe," Ellie replied as she looked at the young brown-head who was still frowning as she considered that idea of the Professor's.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

"Be careful, you idjit!" Bobby shouted at Dean who accidently bumped the old man's wheelchair against the staircase as he wheeled him in his house.

"I'm doing all I can here, Bobby," Dean replied in an almost shout of frustration.

"Just let me do it now," Bobby told him as he slapped the young man's hands away from his wheelchair and rolled himself to his living room more smoothly. Dean watched him and sighed before following him in the living room.

"When did Beth say she'll be here?" Dean asked the old man before making his way to the kitchen.

"Around eight, when she's done at the hospital," Bobby replied as Dean returned in the living room, two beers in hands.

"What a lucky bastard you are, huh? A sexy Doctor all for yourself," Dean smirked as he handed him one of the bottles. Bobby rolled his eyes as he opened his beer and watched Dean do the same before they took a long sip at the same time.

Dean took a look around the room and noticed that it was cleaner than the last time he came here. There was no mess with the books since they were all back in the shelves or in good pile on Bobby's desk, and the usually dusty carpet in the middle of the room was so clean that Dean could see the actual designs on it.

"Looks like Kate can't help herself sometimes," Bobby said, causing Dean to look at him.

"Mmh?"

"Kate. She's the one who cleaned all of this when she came here to take some of her stuff a few days ago," Bobby told him. "Matt told me that she didn't want to leave the place too messy for when I get back here." Dean didn't say anything as he watched the old man's blue eyes going to his bookcases. "Well, I guess she thought I'd be on my two feet when I get back."

Dean slightly frowned before following the gaze and understanding what he meant. Some of his books were put on too high shelves making it impossible for the old man to reach them. Without saying a word, Dean put his beer down on the desk and went over the bookcase. He took the books that were now out of reach for Bobby and put them down on the coffee table. Bobby watched him as he made a few trips from the two bookcases to the coffee table where he made piles of books. The old man couldn't help but feel rather touched as he watched Dean who, all along the years, he saw growing up and becoming one of the best man of the world. A tiny smile of affection and pride grew on Bobby's lips as Dean kept on going.

"You got anything upstairs you want down here?" Dean asked as he put down the last books and grabbed his beer bottle by its neck before taking two swing of it.

"No, everything I need is on the first floor," he replied and Dean nodded. "So, when are you gonna call Sam?"

"You want the carpet off the floor?" Dean asked him, ignoring his question. "Might make it easier for you to roll," he gave a nod at the wheelchair.

"Yeah, I guess," Bobby simply said and Dean bent down and started swirling the carpet. "Dean, is there somethin' you don't wanna tell me about Sam?"

Dean sighed as he stood up with the swirled up carpet in his hands, his green eyes meeting Bobby's blue eyes, "There's nothing."

"Alright, so I'll just call the boy and ask him where the hell he is," Bobby exclaimed.

"Bobby-"

"No, Dean, you tell me right now what's going on," the old hunter cut him off, his tone strict like a real father. Dean watched him for a moment, hesitating as he licked his lips and threw his head slightly back.

"Sam and I decided to go on separate ways, okay? That's it."

"You what?" Bobby asked, frowning in shock. "What the hell is wrong with you? How could you abandon your little brother?!"

"I didn't abandon him, Bobby!" Dean shouted before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Back in River Pass, Sam realized that he couldn't trust himself enough to get back into hunting. And, I can't focus anymore with him around. I'm always worried about what can happen to him and even what can't happen to him."

"So, that's it. When you're worried about someone, you push them away?"

"I didn't push him away, Bobby. I'm telling you that he wanted to be alone."

"For how long do you plan on not seein' each other?"

"I don't know," Dean genuinely replied. "For as long as it needs for both of us to be able to work together."

"I'm not talking about you working with him. I'm talking about you being there for each other. As brothers," Bobby told him, his eyes fixing at Dean with an intensity that made the young man look down.

He swallowed down and whispered, "I don't know either."

Bobby analysed the young hunter's face as the hurtful expression displaying on it, saddened him. Throughout the years, he had seen the way Sam and Dean cared about each other, and he knew that it was tearing Dean apart to be in this kind of situation with his little brother. Bobby knew that this choice must have kept the green-eyed hunter up at nights these past couple of days. Dean couldn't live without his little brother, and it was this dependence that had made him sell his soul a while back. Bobby could understand, but in the same time he couldn't. What Sam and Dean had was special and unique, but also dangerous for themselves and the ones surrounding them.

"I'm gonna put it in the hallway," Dean said referring to the rolled-up carpet he was still holding.

He walked in the hallway and went to the corner where other swirled-up carpets were leaned. He added the one in his hands there and turned around, his green eyes immediately landing on the staircase. He stared at it as he remembered something that happened there a while ago.

 _She_ had rested one hand on top of his shoulder and had leaned to him before resting a gentle kiss on his forehead. That brown-eyed woman with her wild curly hair and her kindness from another world, had given him a gesture that no other woman had ever given him.

A kiss full of comfort, support, softness, respect and care.

It was a gesture that he never knew he needed so much in his life.

No doubt, the young woman had brought into their lives things that he never believed he would ever experience. By herself, she represented all that was opposite to everything that their world was. She brought a softness and a caring that was so foreign and genuine that all he wanted was to feel it all the time. And although he was still utterly convinced that he didn't deserve to feel any of that, he still wished he could. Just like he wished he could have her back by his sides so he wouldn't feel alone now. More than that, he wished he could have her back by his sides so she would talk some sense into his head as to why he needs to get his little brother back with him, like it was always supposed to be.

* * *

 _ **Two days later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

As the temperature was only getting hotter and hotter, Matt had decided for Kate and him to book in another room with air conditioning. The real reason for Matt to take this decision was actually in order to stop Kate's whining more than anything else. After the old lady at the reception gave them two new sets of keys, Kate and Matt headed towards their new room. The young woman was almost jumping with happiness to have a room with air conditioning while Matt laughed as he calmly followed her.

As they walked up to the worn painted door, Kate spun around and held her hands out as she asked him for the key. He tossed a key at her and she caught it easily before turning around to open the door as fast as she could. Matt arrived by her side as she pushed the door open and breathed a sigh of relief when a blast of cold air hit her face.

"I think I am in heaven. For real this time." Kate said with a grin.

"Alright, I'll let you enjoy that, then," he told her and Kate frowned.

"What? Where are you going again?"

"I gotta take care of something," he simply replied. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Oh c'mon, that's what you said yesterday when you left me at the University with Ellie and came back five hours later! Just tell me where you're going."

"Just finish studying the books you got and I might bring you a little gift when I come back," he told her as he hefted his bag further over his shoulder and turned around. She let out a sigh and closed the door.

Laying on her stomach on one of the two queen size beds, Kate was deeply focused on her reading when she heard the door's lock starting to turn. She looked up and saw Matt as he walked in.

"Hey," he told her as she glanced at the clock hung up on the opposite wall. He left over five hours ago, again.

"You're late," she told him as she sat up. "Again."

"My bad," he just said and she returned her gaze to the notebook next to her book. Hearing shuffling, the young woman looked up at him and quickly noticed the older man rummaging around in his bag for something.

"Matt? Did you lose something?"

He ignored her for a moment before pulling out a brand new phone, still in its case and approached her as he handed it to her. "Where did you get this?"

Matt just shrugged as he handed the sleek phone to her. "I usually keep a couple of spares on me. Just in case, you know? This life hard on our minds, our bodies, but even harder on our phones," he said, deadly serious. "I don't even want to tell you how many times I have gone on a hunt and lost a phone due to claws, slime, blood. All those innocent phones," Matt said wistfully, staring out the window of their shabby motel room.

Seeing the smirk at the corner of his mouth, Kate laughed as she smacked his arm, "Wow. You are such a drama queen. Oh, before I forget, toss me your phone."

Raising an eyebrow, Matt handed her the device. "Can I ask why you need it?"

"I want to put in some numbers. I need yours, Bobby's-"

"I already put my number in there," he interrupted.

"Okay, but I still need Bobby's, Rufus's, Doctor Parks, Sam and Deans, and," Kate paused. "Well, I guess that's it. Wait! I forgot Ellen's number." Kate grabbed her bag at the end of her bed and pulled a torn brochure out of its extern pocket with numbers scrawled on it. Before they left River Pass, Ellen had written down her number for her, telling her to never hesitate on calling her if she needed anything. "I guess that's all. It sounded like more people in my head," she said quietly.

Silence hung over them like a fog after that, settling in and weighing down on them until Matt broke the silence, his eyes dark eyes weighed down with questions.

"Speaking of Dean," he said, breaking the silence. "What's between you two anyways?"

"Hmm?"

"Like, what's going on with you two?" Matt asked awkwardly. "Has anything, you know, happened between you?" Kate looked at the young hunter sitting across from her. "You know what? Sorry. I shouldn't've asked." With that, Matt stood up and started toward the small, dingy bathroom.

"Wait," Kate said, stopping him. "Yes, Dean and I have been fighting. I've been kind of irritated that he would just send me away like he has, without a second thought to my own thoughts and feelings. I just hate feeling like I've been pushed around like a pawn on a chessboard, you know?" She looked up at him from her spot on the edge of her bed.

"I do understand. It's just that, I want," He paused.

"What, Matt?"

"I just want you to be careful around him."

"Who? Dean?" She asked, confused. "Both he and Sam have been nothing but accepting, and kind, and they have looked out for me and my best interests ever since I was dumped here."

Matt rubbed his hand over his face, and thought about the best way to tell her. "Look. Those two have brought tragedy and pain to everyone around them their whole lives. All hunters live dangerous lives, but Sam and Dean were brought up to do anything and everything it takes to get the job done, no matter who gets hurt along the way. John Winchester was well known in our community for his utter lack of care for others, even his own children, and the apples don't fall too far from the tree. They are completely ruthless. It's what makes them the best at this job, but the most dangerous to be around, even for other hunters. They try their best to minimize the casualties, but is an inevitable fact that people who get too close to them get crushed, and people who get in their way get killed." he finished.

The look of hurt that was etched across her delicate features broke Matt's heart. "I just don't want to see you hurt by them, that's all." With that, he turned around, walked out of the room, and quietly shut the door behind him with a soft click.

* * *

 _ **One day later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **University of San Francisco.**_

"You're sure you don't want me to drive you back to the hotel you're staying at?" Ellie asked Kate as they both walked in the empty hallway after spending hours in the Professor's office, studying books over books to find all the possible information about Chronos.

Professor Visyak was a very intelligent woman, but Kate was still very torn about the researches she made them both do. Indeed, Ellie was convinced that summoning Chronos would help them call Yog-Sothoth since there wasn't any Jadeite crystal left on the planet – something that Kate omitted telling the reason why to neither Ellie or Matt. Finding the summoning spell for Chronos was easy, but they still had yet to make sure that they could call this entity without any danger and they had to make sure to know the most information about him to simply avoid walking into the lion's den.

"No, it's okay," Kate replied, pulling up her shoulder bag full of books and documents that Ellie had given her a few minutes ago. "Matt said he'll be there at eight so we can go dinner straight away, but I guess he forgot and he's already back in the motel. I'm gonna grab a taxi."

"Which hotel are you staying at?"

"The Sunny hotel," Kate replied.

"The one nearby the Hospital?" Ellie asked and Kate nodded. "No need for a taxi then. I have to pass by the hospital, so I'll drop you off."

"You sure you don't mind?" The young brunette asked only to have the woman nod at her with a smile. "Thanks."

"You never said," Ellie said after a short silence, as they arrived at the stairs and started descending them. "How do you feel about this universe?"

"What do you want me to feel about this universe? I've never even thought about this back in my universe."

"Well you spent quite some time here, you must have compared the two universes several times," Ellie told her as they reached the end of the stairs and they walked through wide open doors to another empty hallway.

"Yeah, I did," Kate let out in a thoughtful little voice, causing Ellie to stop walking and therefore the young woman too. Kate's brown eyes looked at the blue-eyed woman who was silently watching her so she could carry on. "I'd be lying if I told you that I never compared the simplicity of my universe to the complexity of this one more than once. I've spent hours asking myself why I'm here, how I'm here and for what purpose I'm here. I've spent a lot of time, strongly determined to leave this place and to go back to my universe… But, truth be told, the more time I spend here, the less I wanna go back there," Kate confessed before letting out a nervous chuckle as she looked away. "I know, it's crazy."

"No, it's not," Ellie replied, her tone more gentle than it ever been since the young brunette met her.

* * *

 _ **Almost an hour later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California. At the St Francis Memorial Hospital's parking.**_

After Kate insisted on Ellie to just drop her at the hospital parking from where she could walk to the Sunny hotel, Ellie had told her the directions so she wouldn't get lost. Then, the professor left towards the hospital's front doors as Kate started to leave the parking lot. The young brunette pulled her cellphone out, ready to call Matt as she stood in the almost empty parking lot of the Hospital. She had called him a few times earlier and he had picked up just once, saying he'd call her once he's done with whatever he was doing. Kate was starting to get more and more curious as to what he had been up to lately. These past few days, he had spent quite a lot of time leaving her on her own in the hotel or at Ellie's office. He never told her once why nor where he left and Kate was genuinely starting to worry a lot about him.

 _Riiiing._

 _Riiiing._

Kate slightly frowned when she heard the ringing of a phone echoing in the parking at the very same time than when she was calling Matt.

 _Riiiing._

Turning around, Kate spotted Matt's car parked at the other end of the parking lot.

 _Riiiing._

The brunette was even more confused when she saw the man she was looking for, standing in front of the driver's door of his car and kicking it.

 _Riiiing._

Her brown eyes glued to him from afar, she was completely puzzled as to what was happening. He was letting his phone ring in his pocket, he was kicking his car with rage and it all happened in the parking lot of a Hospital where she didn't think he should be at.

' _You reached Matt's voicemail. Leave a message and I'll call you back.'_

Frozen in spot, Kate slowly slid her phone down as she stared at Matt, a million questions twirling in her head as she wondered what was happening to her friend.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile.**_

 _ **Wichita, Kansas.**_

Standing in his motel room, Dean groaned for the fifth time as he dampened the washcloth in the sink again and tried once again to clean his jacket on which stains of a vampire's blood remained no matter how hard he tried to rub them off. He tried to remember what Sam had used to efficiently clean their clothes a while back. He remembered that Sam had been rubbing like crazy in the sink just like him right now before Kate called him on the phone and then she told him how to remove new and fresh stains from clothes before it was too late. However, even though Sam had told him afterwards how to do it, Dean still couldn't remember that method. So, he kept rubbing the stains, and his mind started to wander around. His thoughts mainly revolved around what his little brother was doing at the moment. Where he was and who he was with. But above all, he wondered again and again if he was feeling better now that he was on his own.

The sudden apparition of Castiel right behind him, startled him and got him out of his thoughts as he thumped the cloth in the sink and groaned, "God. Don't do that."

"Hello, Dean," Castiel just told him in response.

When the green-eyed man turned around, he was a bit uncomfortable with the very little space that the blue-eyed angel left between them. "We've talked about this. Personal space?"

"My apologies," Castiel took a few steps back as Dean grabbed his jacket and walked toward the bed.

"How'd you find me? I thought I was flying below the angel radar," Dean told him as he rubbed his ribs to illustrate his point.

"You are. Bobby told me where you were," the angel replied before looking around the motel room, which had no signs of Sam's presence. The trench-coated angel frowned as he noticed the lack of a second bed, too. "Where's Sam?"

Dean put on his jacket without looking at Castiel. He didn't want to talk about it, but still he knew that he had to answer the angel if he didn't want him to start asking him too much questions. Without thinking too much, Dean gave him a simple answer, "Me and Sam are taking separate vacations for a while."

"You seem to take separate vacations from everyone," Castiel noted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, his brows furrowed as he watched the angel.

"Kate. And now Sam."

"Are you here to lecture me or something?"

"I'm only observing," the angel replied.

"Instead of telling me your observations, tell me you found God yet? More importantly, can I have my damn necklace back, please?"

"No, I haven't found him. That's why I'm here. I need your help."

"With what? God hunt? Not interested."

"It's not God. It's someone else."

"Who?" Dean asked, curious.

"Archangel. The one who killed me."

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, taken aback. This was something he wasn't expecting at all.

"His name is Raphael."

"You were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel?"

Castiel ignored Dean's comment as he continued, "I've heard whispers that he's walking the earth. This is a rare opportunity."

"For what? Revenge? Because believe me when I tell you I want my revenge on Zachariah too-"

"I don't want revenge, Dean," Castiel cut him off. "I want information."

Dean went back over the sink and picked up his knife and the washcloth before starting to clean his knife, his green eyes focused on the sharp object. "So, what, you think you can find this dude and he's just gonna spill God's address?"

"Yes, because we are gonna trap him and interrogate him."

Dean paused and turned back, "You're serious about this."

Castiel turned around to face him with a serious expression that made Dean drop the washcloth and then walk up to him.

"So, what, I'm Thelma and you're Louise and we're just going to hold hands and sail off this cliff together?" Dean told the angel who stared at him completely confused by the cultural reference that the hunter did. "Give me one good reason why I should do this."

"Because you're Michael's vessel and no angel will dare harm you."

"Oh, so I'm your bullet proof vest."

"I need your help because you are the only one who'll help me and I know you don't want me asking for Kate's help. Please, Dean."

Knowing that Castiel could have asked for Kate's help, but had restrained himself because he knew that the hunter wouldn't want to harm the young woman, caused Dean to realize how truly loyal his feathery friend was. The angel had sacrificed a lot for him, and Dean was very aware of that fact even though he tried not to think too much about it. Thinking about it only added more weight on his already too crushed down shoulders. However, it didn't mean that Dean wasn't thankful for having Castiel by his sides.

"All right, fine," Dean told him as he knew he owed him more than one. "Where is he?"

"Maine. Let's go, Castiel replied, as he immediately reached out his arm so he could touch Dean's forehead with two fingers and teleport the two of them to the location. However, the hunter swiftly leaned away.

"Whoa."

Removing his hand, Castiel looked at him with confusion, "What?"

"Last time you zapped me someplace I didn't poop for a week. We're driving."

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_ _ **St Francis Memorial Hospital.**_

After Kate called Ellie to make sure that Matt was really going to see her, she quickly left the Sunny hotel and went to the hospital. Within a few minutes, the brunette was standing in the middle of the hospital's reception hall. Kate felt a bit bad for going behind Matt's back, but she had to find out what was happening to him. She had spent most of the night awake, utterly worried as the image of Matt kicking his car in the hospital's parking lot kept repeating itself in her head. This morning, she waited for him to take his shower so she could search his pockets in the hope of finding out something. Her rummaging hadn't been successful, but the calls made on his phone the past few days brought curiosity up inside of her. Indeed, a foreign number had been called several times, and if the dialling code was the same in this universe than in her former universe, then it meant that Matt called non-stop someone living in Great Britain. She wondered if it was linked to what happened to him the night before in the hospital's parking lot.

Heading to a nurse, Kate felt really bad when she took out the fake FBI badge that Matt had done for her months ago when he was doing a new one for himself. She took a deep breath and addressed to the nurse. Pretending to be a federal agent wasn't as difficult as she thought. If you were dressed in a suit and showed a fake FBI badge while displaying a serious face, people believed you were a federal agent. Kate was careful with the words she chose to say and she was even more careful not to stutter on any of those words. Confidence was the key.

After a couple of minutes talking, the nurse confirmed that she had seen the kind grey-eyed man those past few days.

"I'm new here, but yeah. I've heard he comes here every month to visit a young woman," the blond-haired nurse told her before she turned her head to one of her colleagues. "Hey Sara, what's the name of that girl the tall dark-eyed man comes to see every month?"

"You're talking about the grey-eyed hottie?" The red-haired nurse apparently named Sara asked with a little smirk.

"Yeah, the FBI is looking for him," the nurse said causing nurse Sara to widen her eyes.

"We're not really looking for him," Kate replied, hoping they wouldn't believe Matt was a criminal wanted in all the country. "He's just one of our best undercover agents and we're always keeping track of what our agents do."

"Oh," Sara said with a nod. "Well, the girl is Rosemary Wilson."

"Rosemary?" Kate let out in a breath.

She had heard that name.

" _But there was this girl… God, she was so beautiful… Blond hair, hazel eyes and a smile that drove me crazy throughout my whole high school years."_

Matt had told her about _**her**_.

" _What happened then?"_

" _A demon… A demon happened."_

He hadn't told her much. But, still when she had asked him later what her name was, he had told her.

" _Rosemary. Her name was Rosemary."_

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

"Visits are not open yet, but I guess you can go in there," the nurse Sara told Kate as they both walked down the calm hallway of the fourth floor where every patient in coma were gathered. Kate kept walking, feeling a bit sad as she passed by the many doors of rooms containing unconscious patients. "She's been in a coma for years. The poor girl was so young when she got in here. Only twenty-two years old. It's been over five years now and she showed no sign of waking up," she continued while Kate listened carefully. "I've seen that boy coming here every month for all those years. Every single month."

"What about her family?"

"She's only got a sister. But she lives in London and can't really fly back and forth all the time. But she still comes one in a while. Of course, not as often as he does," the nurse stopped in front of a white door. "It's here," she said pushing the door open.

Kate walked a couple of steps but suddenly stopped when she saw all the purple petunia flowers beautifully filling the entire room. Her eyes travelled all around the room as if hypnotized by the magic that these flowers brought by turning a dull hospital room in a true piece of a garden. Then her gaze fell on the tiny form laying in the bed in the middle of the room. Kate's eyes were glued to that form as she heard the nurse telling her that _he_ always brought those flowers because they were Rosemary's favourite and when he wasn't visiting her, he always made sure that a bouquet of petunia was delivered every three days. The nurse's voice started to get less audible as Kate couldn't focus on her words anymore. She stared at the young blond-haired woman connected to several machines as she looked as though she was just peacefully sleeping.

Kate approached the bed, her sad brown eyes staring at Rosemary. Freckles were scattered on her nose while blond locks softly lied around her oval face like a halo. The young woman laying still and unconscious for so many years in that hospital bed, had the face of a truly beautiful fairy surrounded in a garden of purple flowers.

" _What was her name?"_

" _Who?"_

" _That girl worth long, boring hours of studying dead languages?"_

" _Rosemary."_ He had told her with a tiny smile on his lips. _"Her name was Rosemary."_

" _When you said that a demon happened… What did you mean exactly?"_ She had asked him but he hadn't answered to this. His face hardening as his eyes had seemed to go in a distant and painful memories.

* * *

 _ **A short while later.**_

"What are you doing here?" Matt asked as he stopped a few feet away from the front doors of the hospital as Kate walked out of it.

She stared at him with slightly round eyes. She wasn't expecting to cross path with him. He was supposed to call her after leaving Ellie, which was what he said earlier this morning.

"I… Um," Kate didn't know what to reply while Matt eyed her white shirt, dark pencil skirt and pair of heels.

"Why are you all suited up?" He asked her with a frown.

"I," she started as she glanced down at her outfit and then cleared her throat. "Well, I-"

"Have you been crying?" He asked her as he noticed the redness of her brown eyes.

"No, I, um, I just-" She stopped herself as she noticed the petunia bouquet in his hand. Tears restarted to fill her eyes as she realized the reason he hadn't called her as he left Ellie was so he could visit Rosemary before returning to the hotel where she was supposed to be at the moment. Looking straight into his grey eyes, Kate whispered in a broken voice, "You never told me that she was in a coma."

Matt looked at her for a moment before he dropped his gaze to see she was holding her fake FBI badge. His pupils slowly dilating as he realized what she was doing in this place instead of being at the hotel, digging in books and manuscripts. Somehow she had found out about him going to the hospital and she had pretended to be a federal agent so that she could find out why. She had gone behind his back to find out personal things about him and nothing could upset him more than this. He had always been respectful of her choices of not telling him more about herself or about any kind of information that she had, never once had he gone behind her back to find out what she was hiding from him. Whether it was when she sent him to some twisted and dangerous cases that turned out to be seals, or when she told him half of a story and kept the rest for herself, Bobby and the Winchesters. He had always been respectful of her choices.

"Get back to the motel, pack your stuff. I'll call the Winchesters to take you back with them," he sternly told her before walking past her to the front door.

"What?" She asked, turning around to look at him as he stopped in front of the door. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

"You think I'm stupid? You're dressed like a federal agent," he waved his hand at her. "And you're here while you're supposed to be waiting for me in the hotel! You fuckin' spied on me!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to find out what was going on with you! Y-you've been disappearing for hours those past few days and last night when Ellie dropped me off, I found you kicking your car in this parking lot! I knew something was wrong, but I also knew you wouldn't say a thing if I asked you," she told him as he stared at her. "I mean, I get it. I've lied to you and I've kept things from you, but damn it Matt, you still know much more about me than I know about you!" Matt's gaze softened as he never looked away from her. She took a deep breath and spoke with a calmer voice, "Look, I'm sorry for finding out about Rosemary without your consent. And, I'm sorry that you don't trust me enough to tell me about her, but-"

"It's not that I don't trust you," he told her before taking a deep breath. "You know that I trust you, Kate. It's just that I don't want people to pity me. I don't want people to look at me and tell me how sorry they are that the love of my life is in a coma. I don't want any of this," he cracked out as tears started to form in his grey eyes. "All I want is for her to wake up. All I want is to look into her hazel eyes full of life again. All I want is to hear her voice again. But, time keeps on going and she keeps on… _Sleeping_. And, I just keep on losing faith that someday my wish of seeing her awake again will come true."

* * *

 _ **Miles away.**_

 _ **Later.**_

Sitting at a booth in the brothel he took the blue-eyed angel to, Dean wondered how high of a sin this action could be considered. Taking an angel to a brothel surely was the most screwed-up idea he had, but still he thought that for Castiel's possible last night, the angel had to experience the sin of flesh. He took a long sip of his beer before putting his glass down as his green eyes looked over at the terrified angel.

"Hey. Relax," he told him.

"This is a den of iniquity. I should not be here."

"Dude, you full-on rebelled against heaven. Iniquity is one of the perks," Dean told him as a hooker approached them. "Showtime," he said as the hooker looked at them with a smile.

"Hi. What's your name?" She asked Castiel who did his best not to look at the half naked lady.

"Cas," Dean said as Castiel startled at the light touch of the lady. "His name is Cas. What's your name?"

"Chastity," the hooker replied.

"Chastity," Dean smirked with an arched eyebrow as Castiel nervously drank his beer without even stopping to catch his breath. "Wow. Is that kismet or what, buddy? Well, he likes you, you like him, so dayenu."

Chastity slid her hand and tugged the angel up while Dean watched with an amused expression.

"Come on, baby," she said to Castiel before Dean quickly stood up and caught Castiel on the way past.

"Hey, listen. Take this," the hunter told him as he held out a handful of money. "If she asks for a credit card, no. Now just stick to the basics, okay? Do not order off the menu. Go get her, tiger." Castiel stayed still and silent as Chastity waited for him. Dean looked at the angel as he waved the money at him, "Don't make me push you."

Swallowing down, Castiel took the money and turned to follow the hooker. Dean returned to his place with an amused smile as he chuckled for himself. He couldn't believe that he had succeeded on talking his friend - an angel of the Lord- into that. He grabbed one of the few shots in front of him when he heard the voice of a woman calling another one.

"Cherry!"

The name automatically triggered a memory in his mind.

 _"Cherry, the second table is waiting for their drinks!"_ The barmaid had said to Kate when she was talking to Dean in that stripper club back during the siren case.

 _"Why you think those are linked to the doctor?"_ Kate had asked him while he watched her with raised eyebrows and an amused smirk on his face. _"What, again?"_

 _"Nothing..._ _ **Cherry**_ _,"_ Dean had replied in a low voice making Kate roll her eyes at him before walking away while his eyes had checked her out.

Dean grabbed one of the shot and drank it all in one swift and natural movement before he put down the glass and pulled his phone out. Bobby had sent him a text the day before with Kate's new number, and he was itching to call her and hear her voice. He wanted her to tell him something stupid or so clever like she always did. He wanted her to tell him those sweet comforting words she said like no one else.

Scrolling down his contact list, Dean abruptly shut his phone as the feeling of not deserving any of these things she could give him, came back in him. He never deserved them and he surely didn't deserve them any more after Zachariah had used his memories of hell to torture the innocent Kate. Grabbing the other shot of strong whisky, Dean gulped it down and let out a heavy sigh as he put his phone down on the table.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **The Sunny Hotel.**_

Matt walked out of the bathroom to see Kate paying the pizza man at the front door of their hotel room. He stopped at the doorway, drying his wet hair with his blue towel as he stood there, already wearing his clothes for bed. When Kate closed the door and turned around, she gave him a little smile as she slightly rose the pizza box up.

"Dinner time," she softly told him as she put the pizza on her bed and went to drag a chair and put it in between the two beds.

After Matt had found Kate at the hospital earlier that day, the brunette had found out the horrible reason of him kicking his car the other night. Rosemary's sister whose name was Martha Wilson, was going to unplug her sister's life support and Matt was trying to convince her not to. He had been harassing her on the phone so he could persuade her to not unplug Rosemary's life support, but all Martha kept telling him that she would come to California in a couple of months to do so. Being Rosemary's only direct family, Martha was the only one owning the decision to unplug her sister or not. And apparently, she believed that unplugging her sister was the right thing to do. After five years, the chances for Rosemary to wake up were too thin and Martha had lost hope a long time ago.

But, Matt hadn't.

"Here," the grey-eyed hunter said as he handed her a beer that he took out of the mini-fridge.

"Thanks," she replied as she put the pizza on the chair and then sat down on her bed, opening her beer.

Matt sat down on his bed and flipped open the pizza box, he looked down at the large vegan pizza and then looked up at her, "Vegan? You hate vegan pizza."

"What? No, I don't," she replied and he sighed, knowing far well what she was doing. Vegan pizza was his favourite while hers was a tie between peperoni and tuna pizza. Ever since this afternoon, Matt had noticed how she had acted even gentler with him than usual, and it was something considering how already naturally kind she was.

He took one slice and handed her the little spicy sauce sachet since he knew she would want to spice up her slices. She silently took it as he chewed on his first large bite of pizza. She opened the packet with her teeth and then spread it over half of the pizza while he watched her do.

She glanced up at him and then looked down at the pizza as she started putting some on the other half of the pizza making him slap her hand away quickly, "Hey! Stop, you know I don't eat spicy!"

"Oh c'mon, it's really good, you're gonna like it," she told him as she still tried to put the spicy sauce but he slapped the sachet off her hand and it ended up on the floor. They looked at each other and Matt couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped his mouth as he shook his head.

He licked his lips, looking down at the slice of pizza in his hand before looking up at Kate who was silently watching him now.

"I'm sorry," he told her, causing her to frown.

"What for?"

"For not telling you about Rosemary while you told me about your father," he replied.

"You don't have to apologize," she shook her head. "We both spent our time keeping things from each other, and the thing is that…" She paused, her brown eyes looking away, "I don't blame you because I get it. It takes a lot to open up to someone and there are some things that… Some things that are harder to talk about than anything else. You can care about someone and trust them fully, but still not be able to talk to them about some things. And, I suppose it's because you don't want to cause them any pain or get them to pity you," she shifted her gaze back to him, "And, in that case, it's not something to apologize for."

Matt watched her for a moment, a comforting silence settling in the room as she gave him one of her soft smiles before taking her beer and drinking a long sip. He grabbed his own beer and took a sip before putting it down on the nightstand that was in between the two beds. He looked at the fresh bottle and then shifted his grey-gaze back to the young woman sitting across of him with crossed-legs as she chewed on her pizza.

"We were traveling around the country when it happened," he started and she quietly looked up at him as she stopped chewing and swallowed down the food in her mouth. "It was what we used to do every summers since our first year in College. We would travel here and there, trying to see and enjoy as much places as possible. I used to hate traveling when I was a kid, but she's always loved traveling. And, when we started doing it together, I realized that it wasn't that bad. It always put a huge smile on her face, so it was totally worth it," he gave a wistful smile as he looked down at the pizza and slowly took one slice. "We were in a few miles away from Carson City, Nevada when it happened..."

Kate quietly listened as Matt continued telling her the story of how a demon caused his dearest Rosemary to end up in a coma and how Rufus Turner had appeared out of nowhere like a true hero, and had stopped the demon from beheading Rosemary and from killing Matt too. Matt didn't omit one detail as he told her everything he knew she deserved to know. The young woman hadn't said one word until he was completely finished; not because she didn't know what to tell him, but because she knew he just needed it all out of his chest. When tears started to stream down his face as he looked away and continued recounting everything, Kate realized how much pain and sorrow he had buried inside of him all those years. And, she felt her heart breaking in silence as once again she was faced by the realization that not one of the people she had met in this universe wasn't hurt, sad or lonely.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California. At Eleanor Visyak's house.**_

The big and impressive old wood Victorian house that was Ellie's highlighted the wealthy economic situation of the blond woman that Kate had already noticed through her fancy clothing, her expensive bags and her Porshe. However, Kate liked the fact that even though she was obviously a very rich and refined woman, Ellie never acted too posh to the point of getting annoying. Quite the reverse, Ellie was as relaxed as Doctor Parks, if not more than Doctor Parks. The two women seemed to share a lot in common, but thinking about, Kate realized that at the same time, they were completely different. But, at the end of the day, they were both being helpful to Kate even if they didn't have to. Kate realized that she would have to show more gratitude for all the people helping her so much.

"So, where were we?" Ellie asked as she returned in the living room where she had left both Matt and Kate when her cellphone had rung.

"The ingredients for the summoning of Chronos," Matt replied as he waved the piece of paper that Ellie had given him earlier. She had spent the night writing down the exact ingredients for the summoning spell and where to find each of the ingredients.

"Right," she nodded as she put her cellphone down on the coffee table and sat across of them on the twin couch. "So, as you can see the ingredients are rather easy to find."

"Yeah, but I thought you didn't want us to summon Chronos before we had the maximum of information about him?" Matt told her, slightly frowning as he glanced back and forth at the list and then at the blond-haired woman.

"I think we know all we need to know about him," Ellie replied as she crossed one leg on top of the other. "He's considered as a powerful Pagan god, but he's actually one of the entities chosen by God - the Creator of all - to regulate not only this universe, but every universes. With the Cleaner and the Opener of the way, Chronos is what many manuscripts call a Guardian. And, like I told you earlier, Kate, this is the reason why you shouldn't be here," she looked straight into the brunette's eyes. "These Guardians are supposed to know when a creature travels from one universe to another. The Cleaner knew who you were and chances are that these two other entities do as well."

"So, why didn't they send me back there?" Kate asked, frowning. "I mean, Matt found out that the Opener of the Way wouldn't let me in this universe since I don't belong here."

"The only explanation that comes in my mind, is that the big boss upstairs doesn't want you to be sent back," Ellie replied. "Not yet, at least."

"You mean God?" Matt asked as Ellie moved her gaze to him and gave a light shrug.

"I'm not really sure. I'm just trying to find an explanation for all of this," she replied.

Looking at the list of ingredients in Matt's hand, Kate looked up at the professor and with determination filling her voice she said, "The only way to find out the truth is to summon Chronos and ask him."

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **Nashville, Tennessee.**_

Slowly opening his eyes as he was laying on his bed of the motel room he booked in hours ago, Dean groaned at the thumping and pounding in his head. It had been a while since he experienced a hangover like this one. He was so used of drinking a great amount of alcohol these past few years that his body had developed an ability to avoid having too strong hangovers. Most of the times, he was lucky enough to not have any hangovers at all when waking up the day following a night filled with too much booze. But after last night, the young hunter had almost no chance of waking up with no throbbing pain in his head.

All in all, the previous night had been rather good. Finding out that it could be Castiel's last night, he had brought his angel friend to a brothel so this latter could enjoy his supposedly last night and lose his V-card. Things didn't go the way he planned them to, nevertheless they still both had a fun night. It had helped him focus his mind on other things than all the latest exhausting matters of his life that got mixed in all his constant pain and despair that nothing seemed to truly soothe away. However, reality had come back pretty quickly as Castiel and he found the archangel Raphael waiting for them in that abandoned house when they returned from their little escapade. The archangel's words had sunk harshly in Castiel, and Dean had felt his own despair rising even higher inside of him. Stopping the Apocalypse seemed less and less doable for the young hunter now that the archangel had told them that God was dead. But as he was driving his Impala with Castiel sitting in the passenger seat next to him, Dean had felt rather sad for his friend. And quickly enough, the need to reassure him rose in him as he found himself talking like that impossible girl with wild brown hair.

" _You okay?"_ He had asked the quiet angel whose sad blue eyes were glued to the trees the car was passing by with fast speed on the empty country road. _"Look, I'll be the first to tell you that this little crusade of yours is nuts, but I do know a little something about missing fathers."_

" _What do you mean?"_ Castiel had asked him.

" _I mean every time I was looking for my dad when all logic said that he was dead, but I knew in my heart he was still alive. Who cares what some ninja turtle says, Cas, what do you believe?"_

" _I believe he's out there."_

" _Good,"_ Dean had replied, nodding his head as relief of knowing his friend wasn't going to lose hope too soon washed over him. _"Go find him."_

" _What about you?"_ Castiel had asked him then.

" _What about me? I don't know. Honestly, I'm good. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I am, I'm really good,"_ had been Dean's answer.

And although he had honestly felt good right then, now Dean realized that it was just a temporary feeling. Every good thing seemed fleeting in his life while every bad things always seemed to linger, to cling onto him and never let go of him.

" _Even without your brother?"_

" _Especially without my brother,"_ Dean had replied, still very hurt about the situation with his little brother even though he tried so hard not to show it nor to think about it. _"I mean, I spent so much time worrying about the son of a bitch."_

" _Isn't it how it's supposed to be?"_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Kate once told me that it's the way it is supposed to be. When you care for someone, you can't help but worry about them,"_ Castiel had replied.

" _Yeah, I suppose. Family has this tendency to make you worry. But, that's the problem. I mean, I've had more fun with you in the past couple of days than I've had with Sam in years, and you're not that much fun... All that because I worry too much about him,"_ Dean had told the angel who stared at him while his green eyes focused on the road ahead. _"It's funny, you know, I've been so chained to my family, but now that I'm alone, hell, I'm happy."_

After saying that, Dean had found the seat next to him empty. It was the start of his night full of booze and self-persuasion that he was truly happy when he was alone.

But, that wasn't a success.

And now, as he sat up on his queen size bed surrounded by different empty alcohol bottles, Dean's green eyes filled with tears as he stared at the other unmade queen size bed in the room.

The bed on which he was supposed to see his little brother fast asleep and snoring as all the world's troubles disappeared for the time of a few dreams of his.

But, the bed was simply empty.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.**_

In only a grey t-shirt, Sam Winchester grabbed the tray and the washcloth and quickly made his way to the counter where the young barmaid gently smiled at him.

The young man had found that job of a waiter in that bar a few days ago, and so far it had all been going on okay. Working a job so ordinary and so normal had helped him more than he thought possible. Not only did it remind him of the few little jobs he did when he was in Stanford, but it also reminded him that there was so much more to the world than all these creatures, monsters, demons and angels he knew so well. But above all else, it gave him the possibility to work on his trust on himself. The never-ending guilt and pain that he was feeling for all the things he had done and all the things he had caused, forced him into working more on himself. In the end, if he wanted to look at the man in the mirror, he knew that he needed to make amends to himself before anything else. As hard as it was, he was still forcing himself into working on himself. One day at a time. Slowly, but surely enough, he was able to look at himself in the mirror and not fully blame himself for what happened just like he learned not to blame the others for what his choices and actions. As much as being so cut off from the hunting world made this slow progression possible, it also made something else appear in him.

A deep feeling of loneliness.

Because being cut off from the hunting world also meant being cut off from his big brother.

" _No, Sam, going your own way won't help you. You need your brother and he needs you,"_ Kate had told him, her brown eyes staring deep in his hazel eyes as her hands were holding his cheeks so he wouldn't move his gaze away from hers.

" _I know… But I need to clear my mind, I-I need to fix what's broken inside of me,"_ he had confessed to her.

" _That's exactly why you shouldn't be on your own, Sam. That thing inside of you, it can only be fixed with help."_

" _No… It's pushing me onto doing things that are not… Not human. And I know that it's stopping me from doing my job right. And, if I stay with my brother, I might… I might get him killed… Again."_

" _Why are you trying so hard to convince yourself that you're better off alone? Sam, you should never be alone. Neither should your brother. You two need each other more than you can even admit it, but I think you can still feel it inside of you. That need for you two to be together in all of this. Because, you know that it's you two, together against the world,"_ she had told him.

" _Not when I'm like that,"_ he had whispered. _"Not when I'm such a monster."_

" _You are not a monster, Sam. How many times am I supposed to tell you for you to understand that you're far from being a monster? Look at me. You know that Dean won't let you go on your own way that easy, huh? He'll certainly put on a fight to keep you by his sides, because he knows that he's the only one who can make sure that you're safe and okay."_

" _I'm not okay, Katie. I'm… I don't trust myself anymore. I need to find reconcile with myself,"_ he had tried to explain to her. Her brown eyes had scanned his face for a moment before she had taken a long breath in.

" _I wish you could do this by sticking at your brother's side, but I guess… You asked me to tell you what to do, huh? Well, reconcile with yourself. Understand that you're not to blame. Learn that you're a_ _ **good man**_ _. And please, know that you're not alone."_

The scream of joy of a young boy pulled Sam out of his thoughts as he turned his head towards one of the few pools and saw two children playing. The younger and shorter one was jumping up and down in glee as the older and taller one laughed looking at him before he started showing him how to position the stick on the pool to get another ball in one of the corner holes of the pool. Inevitably, these two boys reminded Sam of him and Dean when they were just two kids hanging around in some bar while their father was away on a hunt or drinking tons of alcohol in one of the bar's booths.

There was no way to avoid the memory of his big brother teaching him to play pool as he watched the two boys, a sad smile displaying on his lips.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **St Francis Memorial Hospital.**_

"I love you," he gently whispered as he let one final kiss on the unconscious Rosemary while his brown-haired friend stood at the doorway, silently watching him.

He caressed the blond locks of the love of his life and Kate shifted her feet as she softly addressed to him, "You know, I can do the spell on my own-"

"No," he cut her off, his grey eyes still glued to the unmoving woman on the bed. "Ellie already chickened out of this. I don't want you to do this alone," he looked up at her. "Besides, there's one hunter who would kill me if he knew I let you do something like that on your own."

"Alright," she said in a little voice, her eyes traveling in the room full of petunia flowers before she turned around and walked in the hallway.

She wanted him to have a couple of minutes alone with his Rosemary. After all the confession he had done the other night, Matt had told her she could go visit Rosemary with him after they'd be done with getting all the ingredients for the summoning spell. She had almost denied, but the look in his eyes told her that he truly wanted her to be with him, so she had come along. They had stayed only a couple of hours in the room, but they were filled with Matt telling Kate happy and funny memories of his and Rosemary's. Quickly enough Kate had started telling him some things aswell. She had shared a few of her own happy memories, some she had already told Bobby, Pamela or the Winchesters and some she hadn't told anyone else neither in this universe or the other.

Within five minutes, the dark-haired hunter was by her sides as they headed to the elevators at the end of the hallway.

"I need to ask you again, you're sure the sigils you wanna draw on the walls will keep the angels away when we summon Chronos?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah. It will angel proof the whole room the same way the things Cas craved on our ribs do to us," she replied as one of the elevators' doors opened and they let the people walk out before getting in.

Pushing on the first floor button, Matt moved his eyes to the brunette, studying her features and the expression displaying. Once the elevator's doors closed, she shifted her brown eyes up to meet his gaze and frowned in question.

"You don't look scared for what we're about to do tonight," he told her.

"Should I be scared?" She looked up at him, eyebrows knit together and lips lightly pursed.

"No. It's just that last time you were a bit more, um, agitated," he replied and her eyebrows rose on her forehead as she slowly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well, I suppose it's because last time, I thought I was really going to be sent back to my original universe. While now, I know that I'm just gonna get some answers to the few questions that we've been asking ourselves," she told him before the doors opened and they both stepped out of the elevators.

"What if he calls Yog-Sothoth right away to send you back home?" He asked her as they walked out of the Hospital.

"I don't think he will," Kate simply replied, her tone almost casual as she wiped away the sweat already forming on her forehead because of the hot temperature outside. "But, I'm sure he'll give me answers as to how I can be in this universe and not the other anymore."

Matt slightly frowned as they approached his car, "Did you realize that you never say 'home' anymore when you talk about your universe? It's always 'the other universe' or 'my original universe' while it used to be 'home'."

Kate watched him, not sure what to say in reply. She hadn't noticed that she had changed the way she talked about the universe she came from and where she lived all of her life. And, she knew that it was far from normal and fair. She had spent only a few months in this universe while she had lived twenty-four years in the _other_ universe.

"It may sound weird, but I gotta ask," he told her once they were sitting inside of his car. "You're sure you wanna go back?"

"What kind of question is that?" She asked him, turning on her seat to look at him with surprise and confusion.

"Hey, I'm just asking," he replied, his hands going up in defence. "Because, going back there also means leaving this place, you know."

"I know," she almost whispered as he stared at her for a moment before starting his car and driving back to the motel with the trunk full of everything they needed to summon Chronos tonight.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **The Sunny Hotel.**_

"Ready?" Matt asked, his grey eyes turning to Kate.

She was standing nearby the table in one corner of the hotel room which the walls were now painted with the sigils preventing any angel to see or hear what was going to happen in this room. Kate was pretty sure that what Castiel had craved on their ribs had also prevented them from knowing what she was about to do which was good considering that last time Zachariah had sent demons to stop them from summoning the Opener of the way.

"Ready," she firmly replied before putting one last ingredient in the bowl settled on the table. Matt approached her, one of his many knives in one hand as he brought his other hand up. Kate slightly winced as she watched him cut a thin line on the inside of his hand with the sharp blade.

Drops of blood started to fall into the bowl before Matt fisted his hand tightly so the blood could efficiently flow. After a few seconds, he shook his fist and then took his kerchief out of his jeans back pocket before wrapping it around his wounded hand.

With slightly shaking hands, Kate grabbed the piece of paper on which the incantation was written and started reading it out loud while he lighted a matchstick.

"O Krone, parakaloumen se, thespizein hemin hronon ton mellonta. O Kronos, we beg you, foretell the future of us."

Matt tossed the matchstick into the bowl, setting on fire the ingredients quickly as they both quietly watched with full attention.

Suddenly, the flames disappeared surprising both of them.

Kate looked up at him, "I don't think it worked."

"But, we can't use the other spell," he replied as he frowned looking down at the paper with the instructions for this summoning spell that didn't require to know when Chronos was, unlike the other summoning spell that Ellie had found. "Maybe, we-"

A burst of red light flashed in the whole room making both of them spin around and squint their eyes at the blinding bubble of light in the middle of the room. It was only a matter of seconds for the light to completely disappear and be replaced by a man wearing a long coat and a hat.

Turning around so that he could face Kate and Matt, the man's brown eyes immediately landed on the young woman as a tiny smirk appeared on his lips.

"This is…" Matt started in a little voice before he eyed up and down the man wearing clothes similar to the ones a man living in the 1940's would be wearing. "You're Chronos?"

"Who else did you summon?" The man with a hat replied, his brown eyes never looking away from the young brunette who was staring back at him.

Kate scanned the entity standing in front of them. He had the appearance of an ordinary man and she couldn't help wondering if like the angels and the demons, this entity was just inside of a human vessel. The smirk that never seemed to leave his thin lips made Kate frown before she moved her brown gaze up to meet his own brown gaze. The way he was staring at her with that smirk made it clear for her.

"You already know why you're here," she told him and Matt snapped his head to look at her with a confused expression.

"Of course, I know. I know everything that ever was and everything that ever will be," Chronos replied before he looked around the room, noticing all of the sigils painted in black paint on the walls. "Hiding from the angels are we?" He glanced at Kate and Matt before he tried to approach one of the walls. However, he quickly found himself unable to make one more step. He looked down and saw a pattern with different symbols. He looked up at Matt and Kate who were both staring at him. "Really?"

"Just a little guarantee that you won't try to attack us while we got you here," Matt told him.

Chronos chuckled and nodded, "So, I suppose there's a reason why you summoned me."

"I thought you already knew," Matt told him, his eyes watching every single move of his. "Didn't you just say you know everything?"

"It's my job to know what happens and when it happens, but it's not my job to know about the details. At least, not all of the details. Especially with people always trying to defy what was written for them and changing the course of events," he waved the hat in his hand before he noticed the way Kate was watching him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that I wasn't expecting you to be like that," she admitted and immediately frowned at herself, not knowing why she was telling him this so bluntly while she was supposed to ask him questions.

"Looking human, you mean?" Chronos said.

"Yes."

"Don't let it confuse you," he just told her before he moved his gaze to Matt. He watched him for a moment as though he was analysing him with his brown eyes for a moment before he let out what seemed to be a sad sigh. However, he returned his attention to the brunette quite rapidly, not letting them ask him why he had looked at Matt that way. "So, Kate. What are your questions?"

She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest, "How do you know my name?"

"I don't only know your name, but I also know that your favourite soda is Coke, that you hate mushrooms on your pizza, that your 25th birthday is in a few days, that your father used to call you his little Faith while your mother saw you as an obstacle for her career and that you blamed yourself for years for what happened to your friend Alex in high scho-"

"Stop it," Kate cut him off with a stern voice as she swallowed down.

"I can read you like an open book, Kaitlin Anderson. Just like I can read your friend Matthew Myers here," he told her with serious. "Everything you've lived is written on you for me to read. And it's not that sparkling soul of yours that will prevent me from reading you, Kate."

"You can-"

"See your soul? Yes," he told her. "The little drawing on your skin has no effect on somebody as powerful as me."

"Enough showing off," Matt interrupted as he took two steps towards Chrons and stood now right outside the pattern that was keeping the entity stuck in spot. "Why is Kate here? What's the purpose of her being in this universe?"

"I have no idea," Chronos replied with a light shrug.

"You have no idea?" Matt said, his grey eyes travelling all over his face.

"No creature of any kind can travel from one universe to another," he replied before looking at Kate over Matt's shoulder. "Especially from a universe like yours to a universe like this one."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked as she took one step towards him.

"There are different universes or dimensions or whatever you wanna call them," he replied. "Some universes are strongly and iron-like linked together. Like Purgatory to this Universe or some parallel universes with just slight differences. And, there are other universes linked with corridors as thin as one strand of hair but surely not as strong. Your universe is strongly linked to some other universes but not to this one. Well, not directly."

"Is this why it's impossible for her to be here?" Matt asked.

"Unlikely. Not impossible," Chronos replied, glancing at the young man.

"What do you mean 'not directly'?" Kate asked, slightly frowning.

"When a universe is linked to another one directly, it's like two hands linked together," he replied, joining his hands together as she and Matt glanced down at his hands. "In this case, traveling from one universe to another is rather easy. You just gotta have the right spell and you can jump from one universe to the other." He unlinked his hands and took his hat off. "Let's now say that the universe you come from is my right hand," he said as he held his hand up. "This universe we're in, is my left hand," he brought up his other hand holding his hat. He put his right hand on the other side of the hat and then held the hat with the fingertips from both hands. He held the hat like that right in front of his chest. "To travel from your original universe to here you need to pass by one of the tissue fibers of this hat, and that is if the doors are opened; meaning if my fingertips are touching the hat or not," he put his hat back on his head and still held his two hands up. "Unfortunately for you, in this day and age, there's no fingertips touching any hat."

After a short silence during which both Matt and Kate considered Chronos' explanation, the young brunette bit her bottom lip and then looked up at Chronos. "Do you know who or what brought me here?" She asked him and he stared at her intensively for a few seconds before looking away as a tiny smirk appeared on his lips. "You do, don't you?"

"Not exactly," he replied, meeting her eyes. "But, I can show you."

"You can show me? Like in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?" She asked and frowned once again at what she was letting out of her lips.

"What?" Matt asked, frowning as he looked down at Kate.

"I have no idea why I said that," she muttered.

"It's me. I have this effect on people, they tend to say what's really on their mind," Chronos told them. "It makes it easier for me when I'm summoned by a couple of stupid humans."

"Hey!" Matt frowned at him.

"Relax. I wasn't talking about you two," Chronos told them and Kate shook her head.

"Alright. So, you said you can show me who or what brought me here," she told him as she took two firm steps towards him. "Show me."

"You really think that I'm going to do that out of goodness?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you want to know how you got in here, which will inevitably show you how to get out of here. Then, you will have to do me a favour," he told her before lowering his voice in a whisper. "And, it's gonna cost you a lot."

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **The Sunny Hotel.**_

It was almost seven in the morning when Kate was putting her duffle bag in Matt's trunk after their long night devoid of sleep. With Ellie going for a conference in the East Coast, and with their heads full of the information Chronos had given them a few hours ago, Matt had thought it would do them both good to leave San Francisco for a few days. Although he wanted to stay by Rosemary's sides for a few more days, the hunter knew he had to look after Kate for now. Of course, Kate had tried to talk Matt into staying in San Francisco while she would just hitch-hike her way to Bobby's, but the young man flatly refused.

Absently staring at her bag, Kate was a bit startled when her cellphone vibrated and rang in her denim shorts' pocket. She fished it out and looked at the name displaying on screen as a tiny smile appeared on her lips.

"Hey Bobby," she answered, closing the trunk before she leaned against it.

"Hey kid, how ya doing?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"Oh you know," she said in a little voice.

"I ain't waking you up, right?"

"No, not at all. Matt and I are actually leaving San Francisco right now," she said throwing a glance towards the reception hall where Matt still was waiting for the reception lady to come back from wherever she had seen him go.

"Already?" The old man asked her.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I don't know if Ellie told you, but we spent our time here gathering information about Chronos, the god of Time and then, well, we summoned him last night."

"You what?!" He exclaimed, causing Kate to put the cellphone a bit away from her ear as she winced. "You went summonin' a creature like that Yog thing and none of you thought of tellin' me?"

"You already got a lot in your plate, we didn't want to add you one more thing to worry about," she replied, hearing him sigh heavily on the other end of the line. "Look, it wasn't anything like when we summoned the Opener of the Way. We put sigils against angels everywhere and besides, Chronos turned out to be very different from the Cleaner. So, yeah everything went rather okay."

"You learned something?" He asked her after a short silence.

"Um," she started, her brown eyes traveling in the parking lot, only to see a familiar short brown-haired man sitting on one of the several benches around the area. "Kinda."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," she said, her eyes spotting Matt walking out of the reception hall with the old lady before they both stopped in front of it to chat.

"Kate?"

"Yeah, um, sorry," she shook her head at her own distraction. "Long story short, like everyone else, Chronos don't know why I'm here. But, he let us know that he knew what or who brought me here. He offered to show me."

"And?"

"And, if I got it right, if I see how I got here then I can get out of here," she replied.

"Alright, that's… That's good," he told her, not sounding completely excited by the news but still a bit relieved as to finally hear a good news.

"Yeah, that's good," she replied thoughtfully. "But, it comes at a price."

"What price?"

"I'm not sure… He told me that I'd know when time will come," she replied, her eyes moving towards the bench where the man was sitting to find him gone. She lightly frowned at that before her attention was caught by Matt making his way up to her.

"That doesn't sound very reassuring if you want my opinion," Bobby told her and she bit on her bottom lip nodding.

"I know," she sighed. "Anyways, what about you? How are you doing?"

"How you think? I'm spendin' my freakin' time rolling from one place to another and Beth doesn't wanna cut me some slack. She comes by every two days expecting to find me dead or fallen out of my chair," he grumpily told her and she couldn't help the little chuckle that left her lips.

"Who's that?" Matt asked, nodding at Kate as he approached her.

"Matt says hi, Bobby" Kate said before they both walked towards the car's doors to get in.

"That idjit," Bobby sighed and Kate chuckled again as she pulled her door closed. "He's good with ya?"

"What is he saying?" Matt asked as he started the car.

"He's asking if you're good with me," Kate told him as she put her fingertip on a button causing the window to slide down completely. "He's not bad," Kate said to Bobby causing Matt to huff as he drove his car out of the parking lot.

"You tell me if I need to kick his ass."

"Of course," Kate replied before biting on her bottom lip as she threw a glance at Matt. She cleared her throat and asked in a rather lower voice, "Um, you got any news from Sam and Dean?"

She could feel Matt's eyes on her as Bobby replied to her, "A couple of calls. Not that much. You?"

"Not since River Pass," she told him in a little voice in hope that it won't catch Matt's attention too much.

"Oh, I see," Bobby said, thoughtfully.

"But then again, I haven't given them my new number yet so maybe it's the reason why," she replied trying to reassure herself since she didn't know that Bobby had given to both of the brothers her new number the instant he got it from Matt.

"With everything that's happening, it ain't bad," Bobby told her, almost hesitant in his voice. "You all need to focus on finding solutions to your different problems."

"I suppose you're right," Kate simply replied, her brown gaze looking out the window. "I just… I kinda miss all of you."

Matt looked at her, his grey eyes scanning the young woman's profile for a few seconds before he returned his eyes to the road. To hear such sincerity in her voice as she admitted to the old man that she missed all of them had stung his heart a little bit. Not that he was hurt or jealous that she seemed to miss the Winchesters and Bobby that much, but because it was only right then that he realized the truth. As she kept talking with Bobby on the phone, Matt realized that this young woman had done what he had been warning her not to do.

She had grown attached to all of them.

As a matter of fact, she had grown _too_ attached to all of them.

The way she talked about her original universe, the way she talked about the Winchesters or Bobby, the way she had gotten used of this universe over the past few months.

Maybe she didn't know it herself or maybe she was in full denial, but it was obvious for Matt that Kate wouldn't be able to leave this universe without leaving a part of her in here.

* * *

 _ **One week later.**_

 _ **Kansas City. The Century Motel.**_

After driving for hours, Dean had finally decided to take some rest at the first motel he found as he drove in this town. He had finished a ghost hunt a couple of states away that had turned out to be much more complicated than what he believed at the first; especially when the one ghost turned out to be two ghosts. If he had done his research more seriously, he would have known that there were two ghosts. But, Dean had always hated this side of hunting even though it was one of the most important. And, it was in times like these that Dean admitted to himself that hunting alone wasn't the best.

Moments later, after Dean took a well-deserved hot shower to relax his muscles and put on his clothes down to his boots, just to be sure that he could be ready to leave if anything happened, the hunter put salt at every exit like usual. As he finished securing the room, his cellphone rang. He grabbed it and went to the fridge in which he had put the beers he had bought earlier, and spoke to Castiel as he opened one bottle.

"We're talking about the Colt, right? I mean, as in _the_ Colt?"

"We are," the angel replied on the other end of the line.

"Well, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, why would the demons keep a gun around that, uh, kills demons?" Dean asked as he leaned against the counter of the kitchenette of his room, bringing the beer to his lips.

"What? What? Did—I didn't—I didn't get that," Castiel told him as Dean heard the sound of a truck passing by the angel.

Dean couldn't help the little laugh that escaped him as he realized the situation, "You know, it's kind of funny. Talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone. It's, you know, like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped."

"This isn't funny, Dean. The voice says I'm almost out of minutes," the angel told him as Dean took a sip of his beer.

"Okay, all right. I'm—I'm telling you, Cas, the mooks have melted down the gun by now."

"Well, I hear differently. And if it's true and if you are still set on the insane task of killing the Devil, this is how we do it," Castiel replied.

"Okay. Where do we start?" Dean asked as he walked to the bed and put his beer down on one of the bedsides tables standing at each side of his bed.

"Where are you now?"

"Kansas City," Dean replied before leaning across the bed to grab his room key off the other bedside table. "Century Hotel, room 113."

"I'll be there immediately," the angel announced.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean exclaimed. "No, no, come on, man. I just drove like sixteen hours straight, okay? I'm human. And there's stuff I gotta do."

"What stuff?"

"Eat, for example. In this case, sleep. I just need like four hours once in a while, okay?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so, you can pop in tomorrow morning."

"Yes. I'll just-" Castiel started to say when Dean hung up on him with a sigh and a shake of his head.

Putting his cellphone on the bedside and taking his beer, the green-eyed hunter tipped the bottle up and took two long sips as he looked at the posters hung on the walls.

One poster caught his attention the most.

He pulled his beer away from his lips as he found himself unable to look away from that poster. He raked his upper teeth on his bottom lip, thoughtfully before he turned his head to look at his cellphone. He looked at it for a moment, wondering what he should do before returning his gaze to the poster of the Tower Eiffel that reminded him so much of _her_.

* * *

 _ **Miles away.**_

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

"Sam," a familiar soft and feminine voice said to the young man sleeping in his motel room bed. "Sam."

Opening his hazel eyes, Sam leaned his face down to kiss the neck of the beautiful blond-haired young woman laying by his sides.

He had been dreaming about her for days, maybe even weeks, and dreams that started as nice, soothing ones slowly turned into weird, disturbing ones. He didn't recognize that woman he had loved with all of his heart, that woman he had never truly stopped loving even after all these years since her tragic death. She had never been judgemental or criticizing, but here she was acting that way more and more every time he dreamt about her. Sam who had managed to slowly build up the strength to trust himself and to be that good man that Kate was so convinced he was, began to feel his hopes of getting better and feeling better crash down. And it hurt him awfully to know that it was these dreams of that blond-haired woman he still loved so much, that were making him feel this way.

Rolling over, the young woman looked at him, "So. This is your life now? Think you can just live forever with your head buried in the sand?"

"I love you, Jess," Sam told her, his eyes full of love and sadness before he sat up, turning away from Jessica who also sat up. "God knows how much I miss you, too. But you're wrong. People can change. There is reason for hope."

"No, Sam. There isn't," she told him before putting a hand on his shoulder while Sam kept his gaze glued to the floor as her words hurt him again. How could _she_ take away his hope? How could Jessica Moore take away the hope she always nourished in him when they were together?

"How can you be so sure?" He asked her, his voice little.

"Because you freed me," came her reply in a masculine voice that caused Sam to quickly turn around. His eyes went wide as he looked at the man sitting where Jessica was just a second ago. The young hunter was shocked as he stood up and backed away from that blond-haired man with blue eyes. "That's right. You know who I am."

"Lucifer," Sam said, his green-hazel eyes never looking away from the fallen angel sitting on the bed.

"You are a hard one to find, Sam. Harder than most humans. I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are?"

"What do you want with me?"

"Thanks to you, I walk the earth. I want to give you a gift. I want to give you everything," Lucifer told him and Sam swallowed down before replying.

"I don't want anything from you."

"I'm so sorry, Sam, I, I really am, but Nick here is just an improvisation. Plan B. He can barely contain me without spontaneously combusting," Lucifer said, looking down at his vessel while Sam frowned at him.

"What are you talking about?"

Lucifer stood up, his gaze glued on the young hunter as he moved towards him like a lion moved towards its prey; slowly but surely, "Why do you think you were in that chapel? You're the one, Sam. You're my vessel. My true vessel."

These words gripped Sam from the inside. The sharpness of them, the hardness of them and the awfulness of them crushed him and made him deny what the devil told him even though he could feel the truth in these words. "No."

"Yes," Lucifer told him.

"No. That'll never happen," Sam replied, strong-willed to never let those true and terrible words become true.

"I'm sorry, but it will. I will find you. And when I do, you will let me in. I'm sure of it."

"You need my consent."

"Of course. I'm an angel," Lucifer replied, a tiny smirk on his lips.

"I will kill myself before letting you in," Sam told him.

"I'll just bring you back," Lucifer told him back with a casual tone before he let out a long sigh. "Sam. My heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders, what you've done, what you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bear. If there was some other way...but there isn't. I will never lie to you. I will never trick you. But you will say yes to me."

"You're wrong."

"I'm not," the fallen angel simply replied. "I think I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why me?" Sam asked.

"Because it had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you," Lucifer told the young man before disappearing.

When Sam looked up and saw that he was gone, he could hear some of Ruby's last words. The words she had told him back in that convent. The very same words than Lucifer's. The words that showed him how very little choice in his own life and destiny he had.

" _Because... because it had to be you, Sammy. It always had to be you."_

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **Five miles north of Boulder, Colorado.**_

"Kate, where are you?" Castiel's gruff voice came through the phone as the young woman stuck her head out of the shower, not wanting to ruin her new phone.

"One of Bobby's cabin about five miles north of Boulder, Colorado. But, Cas, could I call you back in a minute? I'm a little bit busy at the moment."

"Why? Are you on a hunt?"

"No, but-" Suddenly the line went dead. "Cas? Castiel, are you there?" Letting loose a frustrated sigh, Kate reached out and set her phone on the edge of the sink, just as the angel appeared in the small room.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Kate hid behind the shower curtain, hoping that he hadn't seen anything. "What are you doing here, get out!" she screeched.

Castiel rubbed his forehead, looking exhausted. "Kate I need to talk to you-"

A couple of urgent knocks on the door interrupted the angel. "Kate? Are you okay?" Matt asked.

"Y-yeah, just a spider!" Kate replied. "I'll be out in a minute!" Turning back around to Castiel, Kate told him, "You have ten seconds to get out of this bathroom before I throw a bar of soap at you."

She heard Castiel walk out and shut the door, and then Matt's sputtering as he saw the angel appear out of the bathroom.

Quickly finishing her shower, Kate dried off and threw on her fuzzy bathrobe. Walking out and shutting the bathroom door, Matt stared her. "That was some spider."

"No kidding." Matt let out a barking laugh as Kate turned her attention to Castiel. "Next time I say 'wait, I'll call you back', WAIT." Looking back to a still-giggling Matt, Kate just sighed in defeat. "I swear, it's not what you think."

Castiel coughed awkwardly, drawing the pair's attention. "Kate, something urgent has come up. Involving Dean."

Kate sat down on the edge of her bed. "Well, what is it? I'm sure Dean is fine, he's a big boy."

"Kate," Castiel said softly, "Zachariah has Dean, and I can't find him."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Thank you very much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **I wanna thank** _ **peygoodwin, HaRose, Erica, Guest, Wideawakepastmidnight** **and** **wolfenergy**_ **for reviewing on the second chapter! I am truly happy to know that you enjoy my story this much, and I want you to know that everything you ask for in your reviews are written down on little post-its so that I can make sure that I can mix your requests in my story and get you to read them in the future ;). (Question: "Kaitlin and Dean?" Answer: Don't forget, patience is a virtue…)**

 **Not only was this chapter beta-read by the amazing '** _ **Igotzapped**_ **', but she also wrote two passages entirely and on her own! She wrote the passage when Matt and Kate move to another room in the Sunny Hotel (I hope she will forgive the little editing I did in this passage so it could fit with my story) and the last passage with Castiel and Kate. When I asked her if she wanted to write a few passages, she gladly agreed and the things she gave me were wonderful! But, since she reads Kate's story like you do guys, I didn't want to give her any spoiler, so I decided to tell her roughly what I wanted her to write. And, she just amazed me! Unfortunately I had to edit what she gave me afterwards so it could fit with the story… Anyways, all the credits for these passages and the amazing beta-reading of all the chapter goes out for her :)!**

 **On a sadder note, one of my friends is going through a lot lately, so if you could send your most sincere prayers and support, it would be more than appreciated.**

 **Take care of you and the ones dear to your life,**

 **A.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the late update and for the many misspellings and other grammar errors that you will find in this chapter. Unfortunately, it wasn't beta-read, so please be try to be forgiving for all my terrible grammar mistakes.**

 **This chapter was inspired by the episode 'The End' (5x04), it contains a brief mention of the episode 'I Believe the Children Are Our Future' (5x06), and finally it contains elements from the episode 'The Curious Case of Dean Winchester' (5x07).**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been about ten minutes since Dean found that already - and fortunately - fuelled car and hotwired it so he could drive himself to the only place he knew he could get the answers to the multiple questions he was asking himself ever since he woke up earlier. Indeed, he had woken up to a completely trashed, destroyed, devastated city in the future.

It wasn't April 2009 anymore.

It was _August 2014_.

And except from the military guys he had seen earlier, there was no other human to be seen. The little girl he had thought to be a human turned out to be infected by the demon virus that he and his brother had stumbled across a couple of years ago. It hadn't taken long for him to be chased after by a dozen of people infected by the Croatoan virus.

Needless to say, Dean was rather worried about the whole situation. And his worry didn't lessen as he found out that there was no cell service.

Reaching for the radio, he switched the stations for a few seconds, but only got a static sound.

"That's never a good sign," he muttered, his green eyes focused on the empty and dark road he was driving down as he headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

""Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia'," Zachariah's voice suddenly said, startling the hunter who whipped his head to see the angel he hated so much, sitting in the shotgun seat with a newspaper in his hands.

"I thought I smelled your stink on this _Back to the Future_ crap," Dean told him, his hands tightening their grip around the stirring wheel.

"'President Palin defends bombing of Houston.' Certainly a buyer's market in real estate," the angel reported, ignoring Dean's comment. "Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right—no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me."

"How did you find me?" Dean inquired, eyeing him with great suspicion.

"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late—human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out."

"The Bible freak outside the motel—he, what, dropped a dime on me?"

"Onward, Christian soldiers."

"Okay, well, good, great. You have had your jollies. Now send me back, you son of a bitch," Dean grunted.

"Oh, you'll get back—all in good time. We want you to marinate a bit," Zachariah replied, a little smirk on his lips as he returned his attention to the newspapers.

"Marinate?"

"Three days, Dean. Three days to see where this course of action takes you," the angel explained, looking at him from the corner of his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, almost growling at him. Having that douchebag of an angel next to him was making his insides boil with anger and fury. There was so many things he wanted to do to that angel and most of these things he had learned during his time in Hell.

"It means that your choices have consequences. This is what happens to the world if you continue to say 'no' to Michael. Have a little look-see," Zachariah told him.

"You really think that I'm gonna change my mind because of your little trick? Or maybe you think I forgot how you played me and what you did to Kaitlin," Dean responded, a hard expression on his face that mirrored the hardness of his tone.

"You really don't wanna let any of this go, do you?" Zachariah sighed. "We wiped it all off her memory, she doesn't remember any of those things-"

"She still had to go through them!" Dean cut him off. "I know everything that you did to her you bastard and trust me, I'll make you pay."

Zachariah huffed, his lips twitched up in a smirk as he scanned the man's face before he vanished into thin air.

Dean let out a heavy sigh when the angel disappeared. He turned his attention back to the road, his jaw tightened as his mind travelled to all the things he wished he could do to that dick of an angel to make him regret.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

Walking out of the car, Dean quickly walked up to the front door of the old man's house. He opened it and called, "Bobby? Bobby I'm coming in!"

There was no answer so the hunter decided to walk in, his eyes looking around the place in search of Bobby, but finding absolutely no sign of him. He was a bit taken aback by the place as it was pretty thoroughly trashed compared from the last time he saw it weeks ago when he brought Bobby back home after the event at River Pass. If he really was in the future, then these weeks ago had happened years ago. The spider-webs and dust covering most of the furniture confirmed him that no one had been around in a while.

"Oh no," he sighed as he walked into the kitchen and saw Bobby's wheelchair on its side, on the floor. He headed towards it, grabbed it and set it upright and when his gaze caught the bullet holes through and the dried blood on the back of the seat, he crouched down and looked at it. He frowned as scary scenarios explaining the state of the wheelchair started to form in his mind.

Standing up, he looked around the room again, one hand rubbing down his face as he muttered to himself. "Where is everybody, Bobby?"

When his eyes looked over at the fireplace, a slight frown appeared on his face as he remembered Bobby's hidden compartment. Taking big and rapid steps towards the fireplace that was settled behind Bobby's desk, he didn't lose time to open that compartment and pull out a journal that looked like his father's. He was a bit surprised to find only one journal since he knew Bobby owned several ones, but when he flipped the pages, he was even more surprised to find a peculiar photography inside. The photography gathered Bobby, Castiel, three unidentified men and Kate. Many questions twirled in his head, but he knew that he wouldn't get any of them answered if he didn't find that place written on the sign in the picture. Folding the photography, he put it in his pants' pocket and walked out of Bobby' houses, heading towards that Camp Chitaqua.

* * *

 _ **April 2009.**_

 _ **Fives miles north of Boulder, Colorado.**_

 _ **At one of the many Bobby Singer's cabins in the wood.**_

"Wait, what exactly do you mean by Zachariah took Dean?" Kate asked as she fixed at the angel standing in the middle of the main room of Bobby's cabin in which she and Matt had settled down in a couple of days ago.

"I can't find him anywhere," Castiel replied, his blue eyes staring right into her brown ones.

"Did you forget that you craved our ribs with something to prevent angels from finding us?" She told him, tapping her chest to illustrate what she was telling him.

"I didn't forget. Dean told me where he was so I could come after he's done sleeping. But, when I came he wasn't there anymore," he explained.

"So, maybe he went out," Matt replied with a shrug as he sat down on the old couch he had spent the last couple of nights sleeping in since he let Kate have the only bed that was in the corner of the room.

"No, he was supposed to be sleeping at that moment," Castiel told him, causing the young hunter to frown.

"Wait, why did you go there if he was supposed to be sleeping back then?" Matt asked, rather confused by the angel's actions. "It's a bit creepy."

"I wanted to watch over him," Castiel simply answered.

"Still creepy," Matt commented under his breath as Castiel stared at him with squinted eyes, not understanding why it would be creepy.

"What about Sam? He wasn't there either?" Kate asked Castiel whose eyes were still glued to Matt causing this latter to feel a bit awkward.

"He hasn't been there for a while."

"W-what do you mean 'he hasn't been there for a while'?" Kate asked, her brows furrowing.

"Sam and Dean have gone separate ways a couple of weeks ago," he said moving his gaze back to the woman who had walked out of the bathroom with only a bathrobe and wet long hair.

"What?!" She exclaimed.

"Didn't you know?"

"No!" Kate replied before she bit on her bottom lip as she slapped one hand on her forehead.

She couldn't believe that the two brothers had gone on separate ways. The thought that Dean didn't fight to keep his little brother by his sides was unbelievable. When Sam had told her that he wanted to go away, Kate had been sure that Dean wasn't going to let him do that. Truth be told, it was a reassuring thought because Kate was fairly convinced that Sam and Dean needed each other and that they couldn't be apart. She had witnessed their close relationship and she had read about it too. Sam and Dean weren't just inseparable, they relied on each other and made each other better and happier. But to know that Dean had let Sam go on his own, broke her heart in a way that months ago she didn't think possible.

"What's the matter? They can't be on their own once in a while?" Matt inquired, looking at Kate.

"No, they…" She sighed, dropping her hand at her side as her mind was hit by the thought of Sam blaming himself for the Apocalypse and the thought of Dean still blaming himself for what Zachariah did to her among all the other things he continuously blamed himself for. After a short pause, the young woman whispered, "No, they shouldn't be alone... Especially not in times like these."

Matt observed her face for a few seconds. It was all written on her face. The affection and the constant concern she had for these two brothers, were once again blooming out of all her pores. After these past couple of weeks far away from them, Matt had believed that Kate's attachment for the Winchesters would lessen, which he knew was what she needed so that when she would go back to her universe, she would go back with no hesitation nor regrets.

"Anyways," Kate said as Matt stood up and went to the bathroom without a word. She glanced at him and then looked back at the angel. "How do you even know Zachariah is the one who took Dean?"

"I just do," the angel simply replied. "But, I don't know if he was taken in Heaven or elsewhere. You need to help me locate him."

"What do you mean I need to help you locate him?" Kate asked, confused by his words.

"I know a spell to locate angels, but I don't know any spell to locate humans," he informed her.

"Oh, and you assume that I do?"

"You did frequent a witch."

"I didn't frequent any-" She cut herself when she remembered Ruby. Sighing, she frowned at the blue-eyed angel, "It wasn't frequenting, Cas. I met her just a couple of times so she could give me a few useful tricks. But, please, don't mention it anymore."

"So, can you help me?"

"Well, I remember that she taught me a way to locate people on a map, but, the notebook on which I wrote down all these spells is at Bobby's-" she was cut off by Castiel immediately putting his hand on top of her shoulder and making her and him disappear from the room.

When Matt walked out of the bathroom, he frowned. "Uh, Kate?" He called, his eyes looking everywhere in the empty and silent room. "Trench-coat angel?"

* * *

 _ **August 2014.**_

 _ **Camp Chitaqua.**_

"What the hell?" Dean exclaimed as he woke up from his blackout to find himself handcuffed to a ladder and his future-self sitting just a few feet away from him, cleaning a gun.

Staring him down, Future Dean addressed him, "I should be asking that question don't you think? In fact why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?"

"Because you'd only be hurting yourself?" Dean suggested.

"Very funny." Future Dean told him before returning his attention to the weapon in between his hands.

"Look man, I'm no shapeshifter or demon or anything okay?"

"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water. Nothing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lock-pick, box cutter and switchblade that I carry. Now you want to explain that? And the fact that you had this picture in your pocket?" Future Dean showed the picture that Dean took at Bobby's earlier. "Oh and the uh, resemblance while you're at it?"

"Zachariah." Dean simply replied causing his future-self to stand up, his hard eyes glued to Dean sitting on the floor.

"Come again?"

"I'm you from the tail end of 2009," Dean explained. "Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future."

"Where is he? I want to talk to him."

"I don't know," Dean shrugged, a bit suspicious as to why his future-self would seem so in need of seeing the dick angel.

"Oh you don't know." Future Dean told him, his tone and his eyes showing that he wasn't very convinced by the words his past self was saying now.

"No, I don't know. Look, I just want to get back to my own fuckin' year, okay?"

Future Dean watched him for a short while before he approached the other Dean and crouched down in front of him, "Okay, if you're me, tell me something only I would know."

Dean had to think for a moment in order to find something he was sure no one else but himself would know. An old memory popped in his mind making him smirk as he looked at the man in front of him, "Rhonda Hurley. We were nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink and satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it."

"Touché," Future Dean nodded before standing back up and going over the table where several weapons were lying next to a bag. "So what Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?"

"I guess. Croatoan virus right? That's their end game?" Dean asked as he watched the other Dean put the weapons in the bag.

"It's efficient. It's incurable and it's scary as hell," was the simple reply of Future Dean. "Turns people into monsters. Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that."

"What about Sam?" Dean asked which only caused his future-self to stiffen. He pulled his hands away from the weapons and the bag while Dean watched him.

"Heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand Sam didn't make it."

Those words needed some time for Dean to swallow them down. Not only was he understanding that his little brother wasn't part of this world anymore, but he was also realizing that he hadn't been with him in Detroit.

"You weren't with him?" He asked to confirm his terrible realization, even though he'd rather have his future-self telling him that he didn't get it right and that Sam was alive and alright.

"No. No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in, hell five years," Future Dean replied making Dean understand that he truly hadn't even been there to protect his brother like he should have.

"We never tried to find him?" Dean inquired, his voice as sad as his eyes.

"I got other people to worry about," Future Dean replied as he took the picture from earlier and looked down at it. Dean noticed the expression of pain on the face of his five-years-older-self and that caused him to frown. He could feel that there was more in addition to the loss of his little brother.

"What happened to Bobby?" He asked him, remembering the state of the wheelchair back in the old man's place.

"He got killed. It was two years ago. He went back to his place to gather some books to bring here and was attacked," Future Dean just said as his eyes stayed glued to the picture he was holding. Dean's frown deepened as he analysed the face of his older-self.

"What about Kaitlin?" Dean asked and he saw the way his future-self tensed, almost the same exact way than when he mentioned his brother.

When Dean was driving his way down to this Camp Chitaqua, he had thought about that picture and he had come to the realization that Kate's presence on the picture meant that she was still in their universe. He was ashamed by the little wave of joy and relief that he had felt to know that she was still there. However, seeing the way his future-self acted when he asked about her, Dean realized that something must have happened to her.

Future Dean looked up, his green eyes going over his past self as he stared at him in silence for a moment before looking away as he folded the picture and slid it in the inside pocket of his military jacket, without saying a single word.

" _What_ happened to her?"

"What do you think?" His future self just told him before he put the rest of the weapons in his bag, zipped it and then grabbed it while Dean watched him in silence.

"Wait. Where you going?"

"I got to run an errand."

"Whoa. You're just gonna leave me here?"

"Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse brewing over their heads. The last thing they need to see is a version of 'the parent trap'. So yeah, you stay locked down."

"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man. Oh, come one don't you trust yourself?"

"No. Absolutely not." Future Dean replied before walking out the door.

"Dick," Dean muttered before taking a quick look around the room.

And then, his eyes shut as his head lowered. He exhaled a long breath as he slowly felt the pain of all the losses he just learned about, sinking down in him.

* * *

 _ **2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

His eyes were getting heavier and heavier by the second. Bobby Singer had spent five hours relentlessly researching for the case one hunter called him about, but finding absolutely nothing. At almost two in the morning, he wanted to call it a night and let this hunter research on his own, but he wasn't the kind of man to give up so easily. Besides, he was pretty sure that this hunter wouldn't have called him if he wasn't truly struggling to find a lead on his case.

Reaching for his cup of black coffee, he took his flask and poured some of its contents in his cup. Putting the flask on his desk, he brought his cup to his lips and drank a good sip of it as he turned the page of the book he was reading. His exhausted attention was pullee away from the book when a sound of flapping wings appeared and some of the papers piled up on his desk just flew everywhere.

Looking up, Bobby frowned as his tired blue eyes landed on Castiel and Kate standing in the middle of the room, "What the hell?!"

"Oh God," Kate let out as she looked around herself, taking in the fact that Castiel had just teleported the both of them. In no time, her eyes met the old man's. "Bobby!"

"What the hell are you two doing here?" He asked as he wheeled around his desk, so he could face them properly.

"Kate needs to take something that is hers," the angel replied as Bobby moved his gaze to Kate and frowned at the fact that she was wearing only a bathrobe and that her hair was wet making it obvious for him that she had just gotten out of her shower.

"And you couldn't wait for me to get dressed?" Kate asked Castiel before Bobby even got the chance to ask himself.

"We have to take action urgently," Castiel responded as he turned his head to look at her.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked, looking back and forth at the two people standing in the middle of his living room.

"Dean is missing and Castiel thinks Zachariah took him," Kate explained.

"What?" Bobby breathed out, taken aback.

"I don't think he was taken by him. I _know_ he was," Castiel corrected her, earning a little rolling of her eyes.

"Wait, we're talkin' about the same asshole who did those things to ya?" Bobby asked Kate and she nodded.

"We need to locate Dean," Castiel informed Bobby.

"How?"

"I left some of my notebooks here. And, in one I wrote down a few spells that, um, that Ruby taught me," Kate explained to the old man. "One of these spells is a locating spell. If we're lucky, it might work to locate Dean."

Bobby was going to say something when his cellphone rang, he fished it out of the front pocket of his flannel and answered without even looking at who was calling him, "Yeah?... Oh, yeah… No, no. She's with me. Castiel brought her here… No, she's fine…." Kate glanced at Castiel as she understood that Matt was the one talking on the other end of the line.

"I'm gonna get dressed," she told the angel who opened his month to retort, but she didn't let him interrupt her. "Once, I got clothes on, we'll do the spell."

With that, the brunette walked upstairs, heading to what was her room for months. Like always, stepping in that room brought a feeling of comfort inside of her, certainly due to the fact that she had spent a lot of time in there and it was one of the places she felt the safer in this universe, no matter what. She didn't linger with any of that, though. She knew she had to hurry herself so they could locate Dean before something bad happened to him. She quickly put on her underwear, a casual t-shirt and a pair of denim pants before walking downstairs, barefoot, without forgetting to grab a hair-tie on her way.

When she got in the living room, her hands up gathering her wet hair up in a ponytail, she found Bobby reading out loud the ingredients for the locating spell, out from her notebook that he had in hands. She had almost forgotten that a while back, before Lucifer got freed, the old man had found not only all of Chuck's books about Sam and Dean's journey, but also all of her notebooks.

Castiel vanished into thin air and Bobby turned his head to Kate, standing at the doorway, "He went to bring all the ingredients for the spell." She nodded at the man in his wheelchair. It was still pretty hard for her to see him stuck in that wheelchair. "Gotta say, even if the circumstances ain't the best, it's good to see you, kid."

Kate's lips curled into a little smile as she approached him, bent down and gave him a proper hug, "It's good to see you, too, Bobby." When she pulled away, she let her eyes travel in the room, taking in the emptiness of the upper shelves of all the bookcases and the piles of books on the floor or on the coffee table. She wondered if it was Doctor Parks who had put all of the books at Bobby's reach. She knew that the Doctor visited Bobby quite often, making sure that everything was doing alright with him and that he didn't need anything. But Bobby being Bobby, he didn't want anyone to look after him as though he was a child, therefore, the very next day he returned to his house, he had the bathroom of the first floor completely redesigned in a few hours so that its use would be easier for him.

"So, I had to find out through Ellen how amazing you had been back in River Pass," he told her as she took a few steps back. She huffed, shaking her head.

"Amazing? I didn't do much," she replied, sitting down on the couch.

"You kept a good number of people safe, that ain't what I'd call not doing much," he told her as she kept her brown eyes glued to the piles of books on the coffee table.

"She exaggerated. All I did was move these people to a Church with me," she simply replied while Bobby watched her carefully. He remembered how Ellen had told him that she had put Devil's traps and salt lines at every exits, and how she had managed to keep the people as calm as possible even before the Winchesters came to save the day.

"You got any news from Chronos?" He asked her.

"No. Not yet. I mean, he did say he'd come back in a few months. So, I guess we'll just have to be patient," she answered. "Did you know about Sam and Dean?" His silence made her look up at him with a frown. Of course _he_ knew. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you had to keep your focus on your own problem," he simply explained and they stared at each other. She could sense that there was more behind these words.

The sound of flapping wings echoed in the room, immediately followed by the trench-coated angel's deep voice, "I've got everything."

Kate turned her head to the angel while Bobby's blue eyes remained on her for a few more seconds as she stood up and went to the angel. She took the large bowl packed with all the different ingredients that he had gathered so quickly.

"We should do this in the kitchen," she decided, glancing around the messy living room. Castiel immediately made his way to the kitchen as Kate moved her gaze to the quiet Bobby, she bit on her bottom lip, "If you want, we can leave and do it elsewhere. I know how much you hate witchcraft-"

"No, it's alright," Bobby cut her off, looking up at her with a light frown on his face. "It's just… Why don't you let me do that instead, huh?"

"The spell?"

"Yeah."

"Um, why? I mean, aren't you already busy?" She asked him, nodding towards the open books on his desk.

"Yeah, but I'd rather you read those books and I do the witchcraft," he just told her, confusing the brunette.

"Um… I guess," she conceded, handing him the large bowl as she wondered why the old hunter didn't seem to want her to do that spell.

* * *

 _ **August 2014.**_

 _ **Camp Chitaqua.**_

"So, that's it? That's the Colt?" The young woman called Risa asked from where she was leaning in the headquarters cabin where she, Castiel and both Deans were reunited.

"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it," Future Dean replied, his eyes glued to the gun laying on the table in the middle of the cabin. He had spent so long looking for that weapon, in hope that it would finally help them kill the Devil and the way he was staring at it said it all.

"Great," she replied, a bit of an attitude linked to her tone. "Have we got anything that can find Lucifer?"

Future Dean frowned as he looked at her, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night. And, apparently, we and, um, Risa have a connection," Dean chipped in, earning a glare from his future-self.

"You wanna shut up?" He told him having Dean raising his hands in surrender. After a very short moment, Future Dean continued, "We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where he is. The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."

"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be, and you just believe it?" Risa asked with still a bit of sarcasm in her voice as she tightened her arms over her chest.

"Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying," Future Dean replied, slightly smirking while Dean watched the whole interaction.

"And you know this how?" Risa inquired, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth," Future Castiel spoke and Dean's eyes got slightly wide as he put two and two together.

"Torture? Oh, so, we're—we're torturing again," Dean said, standing up from his spot. "No that's—that's good. It's not like we almost lost it after all we've done down there or all the other consequences it brought. Like with Kaitlin for instance. No, it's just... Classy."

Future Castiel laughed at that last word, causing Future Dean to glare at him. "What? I like past you."

"Lucifer is here," Future Dean stated, ignoring both Dean's little speech and Future Castiel's following comment as he put a map down on the table. "Now. I know the block and I know the building."

"Oh, good—it's right in the middle of a hot zone," Future Castiel remarked as he looked at what Future Dean was showing them.

"Crawling with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?"

"Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?" Future Castiel asked him.

"Yes."

"Okay, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe," Future Castiel replied; sarcasm the new asset that Dean noticed the angel owned very well now.

"Are you coming?" Future Dean asked him.

Sighing Future Castiel nodded, "Of course. But why is he?" He nodded towards the 2009-Dean. "I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?"

"He's coming," Future Dean just said as his past- self watched them all in silence, still taking in all the changes that these five years with Lucifer on Earth had caused.

"Okay. Well, uh. I'll get the grunts moving," Future Castiel replied as he stood up.

"We're loaded and on the road by midnight," Future Dean announced.

"All righty," Future Castiel replied as he and Risa walked out of the cabin, leaving the two Deans alone.

"Why are you taking me?" Dean immediately asked Future Dean. It didn't make any sense for him that his future-self would endanger his own life so stupidly by bringing him to this reckless mission of killing the Devil.

"Relax. You'll be fine. Zach's looking after you, right?" Future Dean said as he packed his bag while Dean just looked at him.

"And Zachariah is such a reliable guy, of course," Dean sarcastically said, thinking about all the manipulation that angel had done to him and all the tortures he had had given the young brunette. "But, that's not what I meant. I want to know what's going on."

Future Dean stared at him for a short while as though weighing the pros and the cons of telling him before eventually pulling his hands away from his bag. He walked towards his past-self and stopped just a couple of steps away from him, "Yeah, okay. You're coming because I want you to see something." He paused. Then, he said what he had been hiding from him, "I want you to see our brother."

"Sam? I thought he was dead," Dean frowned, taken aback by what he was now hearing.

"Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said 'yes'," Future Dean replied causing the other man's eyebrows to shoot up in confusion.

"Yes'?" He let out in a breath before a long silence fell upon them during which his future-self stared straight into his eyes, his facial expression harder than Dean had seen it before. And it was that expression that gave it all away for Dean, "Wait. You mean-"

"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil," Future Dean replied as he returned to the table where his bag was. "Lucifer's wearing him to the prom."

"Why would he do that?" Dean asked, confusion and loss in his now little voice.

"She… She said he needed me to be there for him... Being left alone pushed him into doing the wrong thing. At least that's what she told me," Future Dean almost whispered as he kept his gaze focused on the bag he zipped it closed.

"Who?" Dean asked him, scanning his face in hope of understanding.

"Who do you think?" Future Dean replied, looking up at him. The way he looked at him, Dean didn't have to ask twice. He knew who his future-self was talking about.

"I never once heard you say her name," Dean remarked, studying the face of his future-self. "What happened to her?"

"She was with Bobby that day he went back to his place... When I got there, Bobby was already dead and she was losing a lot of blood... She died on our way back to here," he replied, his eyes looking down. "Kaitlin and I, we… After Matt died, Bobby got her back with us. And we," Future Dean paused while his past-self just watched him, completely quiet, waiting for him to let as much as possible out. It seemed that even five years later, Dean wasn't able to speak about some things out loud. Not even to himself. "She was there for me. Everyday. After every mission, she was there waiting for me… When the world burns and you know that everyday might be your last day on Earth, your eyes open to things that have been there all along," Future Dean looked up at the man standing in front of him. After another short pause, he continued, "If I hadn't let her and Bobby go on their own, or if I had come just a few minutes earlier, or just if I was with them… With _her_ … Then, maybe... You have no idea what I would do to just…"

"So, you and Kaitlin," Dean said, his hesitant voice almost gentle. "You guys were…" He trailed off.

Dean wasn't sure if what his future-self was telling him meant that the impossible girl from another universe and himself had seen their somewhat friendship grow into something bigger and more intimate. For Dean it was absolutely impossible to imagine Kate wanting more with someone as wrecked as him. But then again, he'd be lying to himself if he said the idea wasn't creating, deep inside of him, sparkles of jealousy for his future-self.

"All I can say is that I wish it didn't take the end of the world for me to open my eyes," Future Dean just told him before taking the Colt in his hand and looking at it. "But, tonight's not about it. Tonight it's about the Devil. And, now we don't have a choice. It's in Sam, and it's not getting out. And, we gotta kill him, Dean. And you need to see it—the whole damn thing, how bad it gets—so you can do it different."

"What do you mean?"

"Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To oh-nine?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when you get back home," Future Dean told him as he walked towards his past-self. "You say 'yes'. You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael."

"That's crazy," Dean told him as he stared at him with frowned eyebrows. "If I let him in, then Michael fights the Devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."

"Look around you, man," Future Dean told him. "Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat!"

"So why don't you?"

"I've tried! I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just—left—gave up! It's too late for me, but for you—"

"Oh, no. There's gotta be another way," Dean shook his head.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. And, that's what she thought, too. She tried to call the angels every nights! She wanted to become that weapon so they could stop all that was happening here. She was ready to sacrifice her body and soul if it meant that our world was saved, if it meant that _I_ was saved... But they didn't listen to her either. So, she started blaming herself and I tried to reassure her. I told her that in no time everything would be settled back to normal. I was being cocky. I never actually thought I'd lose. And, I told her that we didn't have to say 'yes' to the angels and their plans. But I was wrong, Dean. I was _wrong_. I'm begging you. Say yes," he paused, looking at his past-self who silently stared at him. "But you won't. 'Cause I didn't… Because that's just not us, is it?"

* * *

 _ **2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

With her fingers fidgeting the corner of the open book laying on the messy desk she was sitting at, Kate couldn't help but throw a few glances towards Castiel and Bobby while they performed the locating spell. Still a bit puzzled as to why Bobby preferred her not to do the spell, her concern about where Dean was and what was happening to him wasn't helping her either to focus on the research Bobby had given her.

Biting on her bottom lip, she tried to put her whole concentration in the book when Bobby's voice echoed, causing her head to snap up.

"Balls!"

Looking over at the kitchen, Kate freed her lower lip as she asked from her seat, "Everything's alright over there?"

Castiel turned around and looked at Kate from where he was standing in the kitchen, "Dean is not anywhere."

"What?" She stood up and quickly joined them in the kitchen.

"We can't locate him on the map," Bobby said and Kate looked down at the world map settled on the table and surrounded by all the little things used for the spell.

"Maybe he's in Heaven, then?" Kate glanced at Castiel who shook his head.

"He's not there either. While Bobby was preparing the spell, I listened to Heaven's whispers. Dean isn't there."

"But, how can he not be anywhere?!" Bobby demanded in frustration as Kate looked down at him. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Do you think that..." The young woman began as both pair of blue eyes watched her.

"He's not dead," Castiel immediately told her with a voice that showed it was a fact he was sure of.

The brunette looked up to meet the angel's sparkling blue eyes; their intensity was somehow reassuring. She knew that this angel wouldn't lie to her or to any of them. She knew that she could trust him when he said that Dean wasn't dead. As a matter of fact, she knew she could trust him, period. Although his words didn't really lessen her deep worry for the green-eyed hunter, she still gave a little nod at the angel who then looked at the map, his face wearing a pensive expression.

"Maybe I could try restructure your locating spell with the one I know for locating angels," he thought out loud after a short silence.

"You think that'd work?" Bobby asked. "Altering a spell like-"

"We gotta try," Kate interrupted Bobby as she kept her brown gaze full of determination on Castiel while Bobby looked up at her. "What do you need for mixing these two spells together?"

Bobby stared at her, not very delighted by the idea of her doing the witchcraft. The truth was that Bobby had a couple of conversations with Matt that had made him realize how unhealthy it was for Kate to get so used and so comfortable in their universe. Although he didn't want her to not feel at ease around all of them, there was something else he didn't want her to feel. He didn't want her to feel torn about going back to her safe universe. Not too torn at least. But above all else he didn't want her to die because they would have let her get too much involved in their world. They had to look after her and to keep her safe, because at the end of the day, she was still an innocent.

 _No_. She was more than that now.

She was _family_.

* * *

 _ **2014.**_

 _ **Miles away from Camp Chitaqua.**_

Dean couldn't help it. His eyes were enthralled by Future Castiel as this latter was driving his car at the tail of the other cars filled with the team ready to kill the Devil. Even though there wasn't too much light outside since it was already past midnight, Dean could still notice all the differences on his friend's face. It wasn't just the beard and the too-laid-back personality that made this Castiel so different from the one he knew back in 2009. Indeed, Dean could see the weariness that was lurking behind that seemingly constantly stoned Castiel, but he could also see the sadness. Nevertheless with all these drugs, the hunter wasn't sure that his friend knew about his own sadness and fatigue. Or maybe he was just good at not acknowledging them.

When Future Castiel took a tiny bottle of pills and swallowed one down, Dean frowned, "Let me see those."

"You want some?" Future Castiel asked him in a casual voice as he handed him the pills.

"Amphetamines?" Dean read out loud before he looked over at the blue-eyed man.

"It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe," Future Castiel explained as Dean watched him for a moment before returning his gaze to the pills in his hand.

"Mmm," Dean said as he put the pills back on the dashboard. "Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh. I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but—what's going on—w-with the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?" That question caused Future Castiel to laugh until wrinkles formed around his eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Dean, I'm not an angel anymore," Future Castiel told him, his blue eyes looking at the hunter before they moved back to the road.

"What?"

"Yeah, I went mortal."

"What do you mean? How?" Dean asked, his eyes glued to his friend's profile.

"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of— psshhew!—drained away," Future Castiel explained. "And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"So, you're human… Well, welcome to the club."

"Thanks," Future Castiel responded. "Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? Maybe it's not your thing, but I'm pretty sure that if we got a couple of more months, then you'll roll just like me." Dean frowned as he watched him continue, "Well, not really you. But, future-you."

"I'm pretty surprised to hear that future-me ain't already doing what you do," Dean lightly scoffed as he looked out the windshield.

"Oh, I'm not," Future Castiel replied with a tilt of the head as Dean shifted his gaze back to him.

"Speaking about," Dean said before pausing. "What was it between, um, between Kaitlin and me?"

"Woah," Future Castiel said, his eyes going round as he glanced at the hunter. "It's been a while since I heard your voice say her name. Actually, no one has the right to mention her anymore back in the Camp."

"Why?"

"Let's say that you weren't the most pleasant man if we mentioned her. And, just imagine the kind of hell you'd bring us if we mentioned Sam!" Future Castiel told him before pausing. "So yeah, it became an unspoken rule. Never mention her, Sam or even Bobby." Throwing a glance at the hunter, Future Castiel decided to elaborate, "When Bobby brought Katie to our camp, she was in a pretty bad shape. She had lost a lot of weight and you wanted to take care of her, but she ended up being the one taking care of you. You might say some things never change. But, they actually did."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you never let another woman inside your cabin for three years," Future Castiel replied.

"You mean…" Dean trailed off, his green eyes scanning Future Castiel's face as he searched for a complete understanding of what his words meant.

"I mean you made her move in your cabin in a couple of months, and you never let me get too close to her. I think you were scared I would ask her to join one of my orgies," Future Castiel chuckled. "But, I think that fear was irrational. It wasn't her kind of things and even if it would have been, she wouldn't have done this to you. You know how I know?" He asked Dean as he turned his head to look at him. "Because of the way she looked at you… It was just the same exact way you looked at her."

* * *

 _ **2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

"The future?" Kate let out with wide eyes as she looked at the angel in his usual trench-coat he never took off.

"August 2014 to be exact," Castiel answered, his blue eyes still focused on the mess they had done on the table as they tried to combine his locating spell with the one Ruby had taught her.

"Why would Zachariah send Dean to the future?" She asked as the angel glanced at the old man who was talking on the phone with the hunter who had asked for his help in researching what creature he was dealing with.

As Bobby unwillingly let Kate team up with Castiel to find a new locating spell to find the missing hunter, he had then opened the notebook Kate had given him a while back – the notebook on which she had written down notes about some of the creatures she had studied from his books and Matt's books. It was a miracle when the old man found in said notebook a creature that matched all of the descriptions that the hunter had given him. It had impressed Bobby how her so-well classified notebook had come in good use so easily and the old man told himself to look up in it the next time he had to research information about a creature. Because even though not every living creatures and monsters written down in that notebook of hers, it was still filled with a lot of good and useful information. He didn't want to fully admit it to himself, but Kate surely remained a person of a good help.

"Whatever the reason is, it's not important," Castiel stated.

"What do you mean it's not important?" Kate exclaimed, frowning. "Zachariah's got Dean with him-"

"Exactly," he cut her off, looking up at her. " _That_ is important. He can manipulate Dean into saying 'yes' to Michael."

"Dean's not stupid. He would never say 'yes'," she shook her head.

"You and I both know that Zachariah is not one to give up until he gets what he wants," the angel told her, his eyes looking straight into hers as though reminding her of the tortures they both had to endure because of Zachariah's obsession to motivate and punish.

Taking a deep breath in, Kate licked her lips as she rubbed her forehead, "How are we supposed to bring him back here?"

"I could go to the future," Castiel replied, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Zachariah must be watching him there," she told him. "If you get there, he might trap you. We can't risk that."

A frown appeared on Castiel's face as he looked at the young woman. He wasn't expecting her not to let him endanger his own life for Dean's. He believed that she would be ready to do anything if it meant that Dean would be saved, but apparently, no. Apparently, for some reason, she wasn't ready to let him sacrifice himself.

"But, we can't let Dean in Zachariah's hands," he replied, confusion wrapped in his deep voice.

"I know, but if we're logical, he won't do any harm to Dean. If Heaven really wants Dean to work for them, I don't think Zachariah will risk this again by doing anything to him."

After considering it for a few seconds, Castiel asked her, "So, what do we do now?"

"We wait," Bobby replied from the living room, causing both the angel and the young woman to turn their heads to him.

* * *

 _ **August 2014.**_

 _ **Jackson County Sanitarium Garden.**_

All in white, from his suit down to his shoes, Lucifer who was possessing Sam's vessel looked at Dean, "You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"

"Well, go ahead. Kill me," he sternly hissed at him, his facial expression hard as rock, hoping that it would hide the fear and grief that was inside of him when facing Lucifer wearing his brother's body.

"Kill you?" Lucifer asked before looking over at the corpse of Future Dean he had just killed moments ago. "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?" Sighing, Lucifer walked towards Dean. "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be." He reached for Dean's shoulder but the hunter moved back, not wanting to be touched by the Devil who was in the body of his little brother. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do?"

Lucifer walked over a red rose just behind Dean. He examined it as Dean gave his sarcastic reply, "I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?"

"Why?" Lucifer asked as he turned around to look at Dean. "Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God. Did you know that this universe is the last one God created? " Seeing as Dean remained quiet, the fallen angel decided to continue. "You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?"

"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile," Dean told him with sarcasm again as he stared at him with hatred and sadness. He hated the fact that this fallen angel was possessing his little brother just as much as it saddened him. To know that his brother might still be somewhere in there was hurting him too much, but he did his best not to let it show on his face. However, the tears forming in his eyes were slowly betraying him.

"You know why God cast me down?" Lucifer asked him. "Because I loved him. More than anything. He created so many universes in order to create this one. Then he chose three of his creations to take care of these universes, while he went on creating something else," he paused, smirking. "You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us angels, to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, 'Father, I can't.' I said, 'These human beings are flawed, murderous.' And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."

"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are," Dean told him after a moment.

"What am I?"

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego."

Smiling, Lucifer looked down for a moment before shifting his gaze back up to the hunter, "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon."

As the fallen angel turned around and made a couple of steps away, Dean called after him. "You better kill me now!"

"Pardon?" Lucifer asked, turning back to look at him.

"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop," Dean replied, his voice slightly breaking although he tried to still sound strong and unafraid.

"I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either, just like I know that your dear Kaitlin will never let the angels use her as a weapon. And, I know, oh so well that you won't kill Sam. Just face it, Dean. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here," Lucifer told him as Dean couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes and fell down his cheeks. "I win. So, I win."

"You're wrong."

"See you in five years, Dean," Lucifer smiled at him before disappearing.

* * *

 _ **2009.**_

 _ **In the middle of an empty road.**_

Dean was surprised to find himself in the middle of a road while just one second ago he was facing a very pissed off Zachariah. Turning around, Dean was relieved to find the blue-eyed angel in his usual trench-coat, standing there with a tiny smile on his lips.

"That's pretty nice timing, Cas," the hunter told him.

"We had an appointment," the angel replied as Dean put a hand on his shoulder and looked right into his eyes.

"Don't ever change."

"We had some difficulty finding you," Castiel told Dean who frowned.

"We?"

"Kate, Bobby and myself," he replied, causing the green-eyed man to blink a few times. The information was surprising considering that he had pushed the woman away the last time. "How did Zachariah find you?"

"Um, it's a long story," Dean replied as he took a look around himself. "Where are they?"

"Who?"

"Bobby and Kaitlin," Dean replied as though it was the most obvious thing.

"Bobby is at his house and I brought Kate back to Matt's sides," Castiel simply replied. "The moment I sensed Zachariah was back, I knew you were with him. So, I dropped Kate back in Colorado and came to take you away from Zachariah."

"I see," Dean muttered before quickly fishing his cellphone out of his pocket as one important thought washed all the other thoughts away. "Oh, and before I forget, keep in mind that we gotta stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?"

"What are you doing?" Castiel asked as he looked at Dean who was scrolling down his contacts' list.

"Something I should have done in the first place," he replied as he pushed one button to make his call and then brought his cellphone up against one ear.

"You're calling your brother," Castiel commented and Dean gave him a nod. The angel let another tiny smile form on his lips, "Kate will be happy to hear that."

Dean slightly frowned at that before a memory of his trip in the future appeared in the back of his head.

" _She… She said he needed me to be there for him... Being left alone pushed him into doing the wrong thing, at least that's what she told me."_

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **Fives miles north of Boulder, Colorado.**_

 _ **At one of the many Bobby Singer's cabins in the wood.**_

As Matt walked out of the tiny bathroom, he tossed his two towels on his bag that was laying open on the couch that had become his bed the last few days. He glanced at Kate as she was quietly packing her bag at the end of the only bed of the whole little cabin. She hadn't been very talkative since Castiel dropped her back here around four in the morning, and it was almost seven in the morning now. Neither of them had succeeded getting some shut eye during these short three hours, so when Matt got a call from a fellow hunter asking for his help on a delicate case in Bismarck, North Dakota, he decided they would hit the road.

After a moment, Matt realized that Kate may not have been very at ease with the idea of following him to a hunt where there was a man she didn't know at all. "I'll drop you off at Bobby's if you want?" When she didn't say anything and just kept folding her clothes and putting them in her bag, the young man frowned. "Kate?"

"What did you say to Bobby?"

"What? I didn't call him yet," he replied as she dropped her last article of clothing in her bag and looked up at him.

"I'm not talking about right now. I'm talking about the other times. You must have told him something because last night when I was trying to perform those spells, he was…" She paused before continuing with a wistful little voice, "I don't even know… He was kinda _cold_." Matt sighed as he stared at her. "So, what did you tell him?"

"I just told him what I told you," he replied with a light shrug. "That you should be careful around the Winchesters because they make you lose your focus on your problem."

"Lose my focus on my problem?" She frowned, puzzled. "Matt, you were there when Chronos said that for now there was absolutely no way for me to travel back. You were there when he said that he'd come back to make that deal with me, and he said it wouldn't be before months. So, what am I supposed to do until he shows up? Huh? Am I supposed to twiddle my thumbs while this whole world is marching towards its end?"

"That's not what I'm saying," he told her before taking a deep breath and quickly letting it out in a frustrated breath. "You're old enough to look after yourself and decide if you wanna help with the freakin' Apocalypse or not. But, that doesn't mean you gotta put your life in danger. And I'm sorry, but hanging out with the Winchesters can only do that!"

"And hanging out with you cannot?" She snapped back at him, her eyes staring right into his. "You are a hunter just like them, and just like them you mix with monsters and death everyday. Hell, you're bringing me along to another hunt right now!" She scoffed, waving her hands at him. "I'm sorry, but I don't see in which way I'm safer with you than with them."

"Well, first and most obvious reason I don't have Heaven screwing up with me and the people I care about!" He shouted and she slightly flinched at that. He sighed and continued in a calmer voice, "And, let's be honest here, if you had to trade my life to save theirs, you wouldn't even think twice about it."

"What?" She breathed out, utterly confused now.

"I don't-"

"How can you even say that?" She asked him, her eyes roaming his face as though he had grown a second head. "How can you believe that I'd think this low of our friendship?"

"I'm not blind, Kate."

"Obviously yeah, you are!" She told him in half a scoff half a shout. "If you think that I care any less about you, after all you did for me. Then you're not only blind, you're stupid, too! Matt, you are as important for me as they are."

The grey-eyed man was taken aback by her reaction, and although he was touched to hear that she valued their friendship just as much as the one she shared with the Winchesters, he wasn't happy with her answer. He mumbled, "You just put a lot more of pressure on my shoulders."

"Pardon?"

"If you care about me as much as you care about Sam and Dean, then that makes it all worse, because I know what that means," he replied as he looked up to meet her confused brown eyes. "That means that the Winchesters and Bobby aren't the only ones that can be the death of you. So can I."

"Chronos said that he would see me in a few months, right?" She softly told him after a short silence. "Don't you think that means I'll still be alive in a few months? After all, he knows what's in our future, so he'd know if I happened to die. It means that I don't have to be afraid of risking my life by being with you or with Sam and Dean. You can stop worrying so much," she finished with a little smile before grabbing her bag and her jacket and walking out to the car.

Matt stayed still as he realized that her words weren't as reassuring as he would have wanted them to be. Because, at the end of the day, what Matt feared the most was that she wouldn't be able to leave this world unbroken and in tears as she would go back to the world where she was so lonely.

But maybe that was it.

Maybe he should let her enjoy the lack of loneliness in her new life for as long as she could. After all, if anyone deserved to be happy in this crappy universe of theirs, it had to be that brown-haired visitor.

* * *

 _ **One month and a half later.**_

 _ **San Francisco, California.**_

 _ **A dinner across St Francis Memorial Hospital.**_

"You're sure about that? 'Cause I've read that book a lot of times and I'm pretty sure that's never been mentioned," Kate spoke as she held her phone with one hand and grabbed her tiny spoon with the other.

"Maybe the versions are slightly different from one universe to another?" Sam suggested on the other end of the line as she used her spoon to cut a piece of her slice of apple pie.

The day following Dean's return from the trip in the future that Zachariah had given him, Kate had been genuinely and happily surprised to receive a call from the younger Winchester. After apologizing for not keeping in touch with her, Sam had offered her to come back by his and his brother's sides, but Kate had refused. She wanted to stick with Matt who, she had then realized, showed some issues in believing that she valued their friendship. Besides, she wanted to be there when Rosemary's sister would come to San Francisco to sign the official decision of unplugging her sister from her life support. Since then, Sam called every two days or so. Within a couple of weeks, their phone calls went from lasting only five minutes to lasting half an hour or maybe a little more sometimes. Sam had roughly told her what happened to him and Kate had roughly told him what happened to her. Between Sam telling her that he was Lucifer's vessel and Kate telling him that Chronos wanted to make a deal with her the next time he'd come by, the good news were pretty lacking, so Kate started making casual conversation with him. Somehow, she knew that it made Sam feel better as he could think about something else than anything Apocalypse-related.

And, truth be told, it also made her feel better.

Nevertheless, even though Kate loved talking with Sam who was always so easy to talk with, she was a bit sad that Dean had talked to her only three times all of this time. The first time was when she called Sam and he answered the call instead of his brother, the second time was when Sam put his phone's speakers on and the third time was when she was at Bobby's with Matt and that the old man had passed the phone to her. Needless to say, all three times had been rather short and awkward. But, in the same time, hearing his voice had made the young woman happy, too. Happy and relieved to know that he was alright, or at least as alright as Dean Winchester could be.

The return of Sam's usual calls wasn't the only thing that happened after Dean's little trip in the future. Indeed, Matt's training sessions had also come back into an everyday routine: from physical training with jogging early in the morning, doing tons of push-ups, working on her abs and her fighting skills, to technical training with learning how to fight with a knife and how to shoot. Unfortunately, it seemed that firearms didn't agree with the young woman at all, and Matt started to believe that it was a hopeless case. However, he still brought her along to four different hunts, and let her out of the researches to actually help killing the monster twice. No doubt researches were her forte, but she wasn't that bad on the field. Well, as long as she didn't have to use a firearm.

"I'll have to check this out. Maybe I should re-read all the books I've ever read and see if there's differences with the versions I've read back there," Kate replied as she brought her spoon full of pie to her mouth.

"You do that," he chuckled. "Meanwhile, I'd be knocking myself out with researching what in this town turns every lies we tell kids true."

Kate chuckled before talking with her mouth full, "You know what I should do?"

"Not speak with your mouth full?" He teased her on the other end of the line.

She swallowed down, "You think you're funny. No, I'm thinking that I should write a book."

"I thought you were supposed to re-read all the books you've ever read, not write one."

"No, but seriously, I could make a lot of money by writing about all the things you fight in here," she told him.

"Like Chuck, you mean?"

"Kinda. But without the bankruptcy. Maybe I should ask him a few tips when I see him," Kate replied as she took her cup of black coffee and drank a long sip.

"You plan to see him?" He asked her as Kate heard him shuffle some pages, certainly still doing his researches while talking to her.

"Mmhmm," she hummed with a nod that he could obviously not see. Putting her cup back down, she grabbed her spoon as she elaborated, "I was thinking of paying him a little visit soon. Just to make sure that he's not keeping any writings about me in his room."

"You mean like a shower scene?" Sam asked her with a chuckle before she heard another voice speaking up behind him followed by what sounded like a door slamming shut. "Um, I'm talking to Katie."

"Dean's there?"

"Yeah, he, um, he just got back."

"And, let me guess, he's still trying to avoid talking to me for some unknown reason, huh? She asked.

"Take another guess," Dean's deep voice answered playfully on the other end of the line. Kate felt herself straighten on her seat as her cheeks turned slightly red.

"D-Dean," she stuttered and then mentally cursed at herself mentally for stuttering with no reason.

"The one and only," he replied with a little chuckle. "How are you?"

"Honestly? Um, a bit surprised that I'm talking with you right now."

"Why so?"

"You really have to ask?" She asked him, toying with her spoon and the Chantilly cream on her pie.

After a short moment during which Kate heard Sam say something about Dean snatching his phone in the back followed by a sigh from Dean and the sound of a door, once again, slamming shut, Dean spoke up again. "I don't know what Sammy's been telling you, but I ain't avoiding you, Kaitlin."

"Well, I don't know. I mean, you-" She cut herself off as she realized something. Frowning and putting her spoon down, she licked her lips before she asked in almost a whisper, "Did you just call me 'Kaitlin'?"

"As far as I'm concerned, it's still your name," he replied and Kate could nearly see the frown of confusion on his freckled face.

Her lips stretched into a wide smile on their own and she had to bit on her bottom lip to lessen that smile so she could reply. "Yes. It's just that… Never mind. I'm sure you needed to ask me something if you snatched the phone away from Sam."

"Yeah," Dean said with a thoughtful tone. "But, like you said, never mind." Kate slightly frowned at that, wondering if he had realized too that it had been a while since he called her _Kaitlin_ and not _Kate_.

"So, you got any lead on your case?" She asked him, trying to break the silence that was slowly settling.

"Well," Dean started when Sam's cellphone made a noise indicating another upcoming call. "Ugh. There's… It's the hospital calling on Sam's phone for the case. I gotta take this."

"Oh, alright. I gotta go anyway," she replied. "You be safe, huh?"

"Yeah. You too," he told her before she hung up.

Kate looked down at her spoon and then put it down with a sigh as she moved her brown eyes and immediately met the blue eyes of a blond man sitting on his own at the next table. She gave him a polite smile before moving her eyes to the hospital building across the street that she could see through the grand window of the dinner. She absently stared at the building for a while, her mind playing in a loop the few words she exchanged with the elder Winchester. She had no idea why every little things with or about Dean seemed to make her brain think too much, just like she had no idea why she felt the need to always ask after him via Bobby or Sam while he surely didn't do the same.

This past month and a half as Matt kept Kate in shape with the training sessions and the few hunts, she had realized something quite weird about herself. For some reason, her thoughts always rambled around Dean and even how he would have taken care of the case she and Matt were working on. Maybe the fact that Dean was certainly still feeling guilty for what Zachariah did to her, pushed her mind into thinking that much about the elder Winchester. Surely, the reason remained odd, confusing and a little bit mysterious for the young woman who had never been the kind of girl to spend her nights awake thinking about some guy.

"Got some relative in there?" A male voice startled Kate out of her thoughts.

"Mmh?" She asked looking up at the blond man she had smiled to, just a moment ago. "No. Not really. Um, a friend of mine is visiting someone so I'm just waiting for him, here."

"You couldn't go in there with him?" He asked her, his voice gentle.

"Um, something like that," she replied before she noticed the sad expression in his eyes. She could tell that he had gone through something that pained him a lot and being the compassionate person that she was, she couldn't let him go without offering him to drink his coffee with her.

That was how, over a coffee, Kate and the blond-haired man had a nice ten-minute long conversation that mostly revolved around the hot temperature of the area and all the natural disasters that happened these past couple of months. Of course Kate didn't tell him that the reason behind all these disasters was that the Apocalypse had been launched. Their conversation remained the most normal conversation she had ever since she came in here. Not one single mention of anything supernatural at all. Talking with someone who was completely oblivious to the dark and monster-full side of this world, was rather refreshing for the young woman. However, the sorrow that was painted in the man's features and that made her have him sit down with her, pained Kate who couldn't help but ask him if he had some relative in the hospital across the street.

"No, no," he shook his head as he looked down at his cup of coffee. "It's more complicated." Kate didn't say anything knowing far well that when someone said that something was complicated, it meant that they didn't want to talk about it – especially if it was someone you just met. "It's just…" The man began, causing Kate to look up at him with kind brown eyes ready to listen to him if that was what he needed. "My father and I, we got into an argument a long time ago and we never solved it."

"Well, it's never too late," she gently told him.

"The thing is that he doesn't want to see me," he replied as he stirred his little spoon in the coffee he still hadn't tasted. "Besides, my brothers are all against me. My whole family turned its back on me."

"I'm sorry," Kate told him with a sincerity that made him look at her with arched up eyebrows. He scanned her face for a couple of seconds and then a corner smile of gratitude grew on his lips.

"Do you believe in destiny?" He asked her and she lightly frowned, not expecting him to ask her such a question.

"Um, I'm not sure," she shrugged as he watched her. She bit her bottom lip, thoughtfully before continuing. "I think I'm the kind of person who likes to believe that you can make your own future."

"It is a rather wise way of thinking," he commented, right when her cellphone vibrated on the table.

"Sorry," she said as she took the device and read the text Matt had just sent her.

" _Meet you by the car in 5"_

"Oh, I'm sorry, I gotta go," she looked up and saw the man sitting across of her, nod at her in understanding. Grabbing her bag that was hanging on the back of her chair, she stood up and pulled out her wallet.

"Please, don't," the blond-haired man told her. She was ready to insist on paying when he shook his head. "I'll pay."

"Thank you," she sighed as she put her wallet back inside of her bag that she etched up on her shoulder. "I hope everything will turn out okay with your family."

"We'll see," he replied as she gave him a soft smile before turning around, ready to head for the door.

"Oh," she spun around again, "I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, you can call me Nick," he told her before her cellphone rang as she was going to tell him her own name.

"Sorry, gotta go," she told him as she put her cellphone against her ear and walked out of the dinner while the blond-haired man watched her go with a wicked smile on his lips.

* * *

 _ **That night.**_

 _ **Carson City, Nevada.**_

After realizing that Kate had been fast asleep for about an hour now, Matt pulled up his car to the side of the empty country road, deciding that he could use some shut eye as well. It had been a rather long week for the both of them. They were in Montana when he got a call from Rosemary's sister, Martha Wilson, telling him that she was coming in San Francisco to sign all the required papers to get her sister unplugged from her life support. They had rushed to St Francis Memorial Hospital, leaving the case Matt was working on for another couple of hunters. Luckily, the circumstances made it that Martha had to wait another few months to sign those papers, and that made Matt happier than ever. Having these months filled with certainty that Rosemary would still be plugged to her life support, gave him hope that she could still wake up.

Matt was distracted from his thoughts when Kate lightly moaned and shifted on her seat. He looked over at her and saw the little frowny pout that her face was doing. He let out a soft chuckle at that and then positioned himself so that he could comfortably lay back in his seat. He closed his eyes, but another sound coming from the brunette sleeping on the seat next to him, got him to shut his eyes open. He turned his head to look at her.

"Mmh, Dean…" Kate let out in a whisper as Matt watched her with raised eyebrows and an amused smile forming on his lips.

"At least, she's having sweet dreams," he whispered to himself before exhaling a long sigh and shifting to a comfortable position in his seat. It wasn't long before he fell sound asleep, too.

At his right, the young woman started to shift more agitatedly in her seat as her sweet dreams slowly turned into a nightmare full of blood and screams.

A couple of minutes later, the brunette woke up with a gasp. Quickly realizing that it was all a dream, Kate started to breathe heavily, trying to catch back her breath as her brown eyes went to her left and she saw Matt snoring as he was sleeping deeply. She looked out the window and realized that Matt had pulled off in the middle of nowhere. Rubbing her fingers on her eyelids, she grabbed her cellphone from the dashboard and then looked down at the time.

 _ **1:07 am.**_

She stared at the numbers until the seven turned into an eight and then a nine, and then automatically, her fingers scrolled the short contact list that she had. She wanted to call Sam so he could help her think about something else than the bad dream she just had. But, something inside of her told her that it would be too much, considering they had already talked to each other this afternoon.

Biting on her bottom lip, Kate looked at the other names on the list; more specifically she looked at the name of his big brother. Looking at _his_ name made her heart beat faster under her ribcage, and she felt herself getting flustered. Shutting her cellphone in one swift movement, she put it on the dashboard and shook her head. The memories of how that nightmare had started as another kind of dream making her uncomfortable and also making her wonder how the hell she could have had _that_ kind of dream about him. Her eyes went big and round as detailed memories of that _too_ sweet dream came back flowing in her head.

"Oh God," escaped her lips a bit loudly. She slapped her hands against her mouth and looked at Matt in case she would have woken him up. Realizing that he was still fast asleep, Kate sighed in relief that he had absolutely no idea what she had just dreamt about.

* * *

 _ **Four days later.**_

 _ **Saint Paul, Minnesota.**_

Kate started to get impatient as she knocked on the door for the third time and then rang the doorbell twice. She was starting to believe that the prophet wasn't at his house, and it made her regret not going with Matt to meet Rufus in Michigan. Before borrowing that car from Bobby and driving all the way to here on her own, she should have called the prophet and see if he was going to be there. Even if it meant risking the angels knowing what she was doing and even locating her.

Sighing, Kate looked around the neighbourhood when the door clicked open, causing her attention to get back to the door.

"Sorry, I was looking for my robe," the bearded man said as he pulled his door fully open, revealing himself in a brown bathrobe over his underwear, just like the first time she and the Winchesters had met him months ago.

"Catch," she smiled to him as she tossed him a tiny black canvas bag that he caught with his two hands.

Glancing down at it, he frowned, "Um, you really think this is necessary?"

"Considering the last time I came, a group of angels almost beat me to death, yeah," she replied.

"Yeah, but, um, if my archangel doesn't see me anymore because of it, he might show up," he explained, his tone full of worry.

"Mmh. I'm pretty sure he would have been here by now, don't you think?" She explained in return and he considered her answer for a couple of seconds before shoving the hexbag in his bathrobe's pocket. "So, I suppose you knew I was coming." He simply nodded. "Um, are you going to invite me in or-"

"Oh, yes! Sure, come on in," he stepped away, letting her walk in his house.

Kate was pretty surprised as her brown eyes immediately took notice of how cleaner and neater Chuck's place was. She made her way in the hallway and up to the living room, the prophet trailing behind.

"What happened in here?"

"Oh, uh, a new friend of mine has been coming almost every weekend and she just started to clean everything up," he explained and she turned her head to him, lifting her eyebrows as she smiled.

" _She_?"

"Yeah, she's just a friend," he shrugged, folding his arms over his chest as Kate turned completely around, her eyes fixing at his face. "Okay, she's actually a fan of the 'Supernatural' books. I asked for her help a while back, and now she brings me cupcakes or cleans my place, and I'm not even asking her to do any of that! But she does and then I have to pay her by writing her some new adventures about Sam and Dean. I have to come up with new things to write almost every weekend. It's pretty exhausting."

"Well, why don't you just give her some of the 'Supernatural' manuscripts you've written but haven't published yet?"

"Well, she's more demanding… She wants to read some particular things putting Sam and Dean in situations that are, well, not very kosher," he stammered.

Kate frowned for a moment before her eyes went big in realization of what he was telling her, "You mean, like, um, the Sam slash Dean, things?"

"It's a way to put it," he nodded.

"Oh. Don't ever mention it to Sam and Dean, then," she advised him. "Speaking about Sam and Dean, may I know why you gave them the manuscripts about me?"

"I didn't want to, but Dean didn't give me a choice," he immediately replied, a little panic in his voice as he held his hands up in defence. "Besides, I think they needed to know what happened to you, what angels did to you… I mean, it's kinda the same reason that pushed you into reading my books, isn't it? You wanted to know what happened to Sam and Dean and what made them who they are today."

Kate was speechless as she looked at the blue-eyed man. He was right. She couldn't blame him for giving the Winchesters the manuscripts about her while she had read all these books about them. It would have been unfair even though they still didn't know that she had read these books about them. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but wonder what they had learned exactly from these manuscripts aside from what Zachariah had done to her.

"Just so you know, my friend doesn't know about you," Chuck spoke in a little voice, pulling Kate out of her thoughts. She looked at him with a questioning expression. "I haven't let her see the manuscripts about you, just like I haven't let her see the manuscripts about Sam and Dean ever since Dean's return from Hell."

"Good," Kate just said.

"Um, you want something to drink?" He asked, walking to the kitchen. "I got some beers and a soda or two in the fridge. Oh, and I got some tea. Remember last time you were gonna make me some tea when I had that headache? Well, since then I got tea here. It's not as efficient as some good booze when I get a headache, but it's not bad for the following hangover."

As he rambled, Kate's eyes fixed at his new coffee table, her mind traveling down memory lane.

" _Ugh," she groaned as she landed on the coffee table when the angel threw her._

" _How come a little monkey like you can believe that you can fight us," the angel told her as he walked towards her as she climbed down the table, crawling towards the sword that Bobby had given her. The sword that had been soaked in something that proved to hurt angels. The angel kicked in her stomach, three times, causing blood to leave her mouth, before she managed to trip him up. Once he was on the floor, she reached for the sword, her eyes glancing up at Castiel who was still fighting against the other angel._

" _Aah!" she screamed out in pain as her hand was stepped on by the other angel. She looked up to see him standing there and making a tsk sound with his tongue as he grinned down at her. The angel she was fighting against, already standing right next to him._

" _You should have listened to Zachariah. You should have run."_

"Kate?" Chuck called as he approached the woman with two beers in his hands.

"What?" She startled.

"You're alright?" He asked her with sincere concern.

She looked at him for a moment as another memory flashed in her mind.

" _No!" Chuck shouted as he hit with a chair the back of the angel who was crushing Kate's hand, causing him to turn around, fuming at the prophet._

" _You really shouldn't have done that," the angel hissed at him, approaching the bearded-man and Kate took that opportunity to grab the sword and to swing it at the other angel's leg causing him to yelp in pain._

"I just realized that I never thanked you," she softy replied.

"What for?" Chuck asked, puzzled.

"For that night," she responded. "You didn't have to fight by our side… But, you did."

"Well, I just knew that I couldn't let down a good person like you," he gave her a corner smile.

" _Maybe you're right. I mean look at me, I-I'm not a good man, I'm an alcoholic and I steal about one hundred dollars from my publisher every month. But still, I don't think I'm a bad man, either. So what am I then, huh? It's gonna be the end of the world in a few hours and I'm just a miserable person,"_ Chuck had told her that night, before the angels' attack.

" _No, you're not. To me, you are a good person,"_ Kate had replied.

The young woman smiled back at the man standing in front of her before looking down at the two beer bottles in his hands. She took one and then looked up at him, "What about you go put some decent clothes on and we go out for lunch, huh?"

"Y-you want to take me to lunch?" He stuttered. "I thought you came here to take your manuscripts and ask me about how the Apocalypse was going."

"We can talk about this over lunch, too."

"Well, I didn't see that coming," he nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

"Wait, um, let's be clear here. It's not a date, okay?" She gently told him, fearing that he would misunderstood her.

"That I saw coming," he replied and she let out a very light chuckle. "Don't take it bad, but although you're an attractive woman, someone else that has piqued my interest lately, so…"

"Mmh," she said, thoughtfully. "Wouldn't that be a friend who comes every weekend and gives some sense to your messy place?"

"Well," he tilted his head, a little smile forming on his lips.

"Oh, we're so gonna talk about this over lunch."

* * *

 _ **A few days later.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota.**_

With her cellphone against her ear, Kate loaded the trunk of Matt's car that the hunter lent her as she announced she would do some grocery shop to fill the house with all the things Bobby has been running out of.

"Yes, Bobby, I got your whisky," she said as she pushed the two last bags of grocery in the trunk. "Yes. Five bottles. And by the way, people looked at me weirdly," she slammed the trunk shut as she chuckled at the reply he gave her on the other end of the line. "Yeah, see you in a few," she finished before hanging up.

As Kate pushed the shopping trolley to where it had to be put, she felt eyes watching her. Turning around with frowned eyebrows, the brown-eyed woman quickly realized that it was her imagination playing with her mind as there was no one else in the supermarket's parking lot, but her. She shook her head as she settled the trolley in place and turned around, only to bump into someone.

"Sorry-" She started to say before her eyes took notice of who was standing in front of her. "Nick!" She exclaimed with surprise as she took a step back, still watching him as a genuine smile formed on her lips. "What are you doing here? You're miles away from California."

"I could ask you the same question," he smirked down at her. Kate slightly frowned as she realized that he looked very pale comparing to the last time she saw him.

"Um, I got family here," she told him, before continuing with concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" He asked her, the wicked smile plastered on his face started to confuse her. "So, family you said?"

"Y-yeah," she stuttered, starting to feel something off. "You?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, um, what are you doing here?" She asked before she let her eyes glance down at his clothes to find out that he was wearing the exact same clothes than back in San Francisco.

"Work. But also family. You know how these two can mix together, Kate," he simply replied.

"Yeah, I-" Kate started before she cut herself as she realized something that froze her. "Um, I… I never told you my name," she said in a little voice as she looked up at the pale blue-eyed man.

"Oh," he let out before chuckling as he shook his head. "And, I thought it would take much more time before I did this sort of stupid slip," he told her as she started to take steps back while quickly saying the exorcism chant. Nevertheless, it didn't have the effect Kate wished for, as he started laughing, "Oh come on, it's not because I created the demons that I'm one of them."

It froze Kate in spot as she stared up at him with wide eyes, finally understanding who he was.

"Oh God," escaped her mouth in a breath as she felt her heartbeats wildly increasing with the intense fear of who was in her presence.

"Try again," he smirked at her.

"How…"

"How did I find you?" He asked before taking one step towards her. "Well, it's true that you're hard to locate. Just like the Winchesters. But, I've been wanting to meet you ever since Sammy got me out and I heard about you. And well, back in San Francisco, you might say that it was pure luck. As for today, let's say that the last time I saw you, I made sure to keep track of your car."

Kate glanced at Matt's car a few feet away before returning her gaze to him, only to find him standing just a few inches away from her. She jumped in both surprise and fear.

"Oh, Kate," he told her, his voice sounding soothing and even seducing as he reached one hand to touch one long curly strands of her hair. She couldn't help the shaky breath she took in as he twirled his finger in her curl. "Don't be scared, I'm not here to harm you."

"Sorry if I got trouble believing your words," she told him sarcastically, yet her voice was shaking with fear.

"I see that my reputation has made its way across the universes," he commented before nodding as he sighed and put his hand away from her. She immediately took one step back as he stared at her, "Look, I like you, Kate. Not because you're not from here, and even less because of your soul that you're hiding oh-so well behind that magic tattoo. I like you, because you're incredibly and sincerely understanding, caring and compassionate. And, I know that's why you will help me. You will help me _win_."

"You're wrong. I will never help you do anything."

"Sure, you will," he told her with a sinful smile. "Because that's who you are. A helpful little human who always puts others before her."

"I will never put _you_ before me," she distinctly told him, fisting her hands to help keep her fear as low as possible. If she had to keep her fear as invisible as possible to somebody, it had to be to that fallen angel.

"Maybe not me. But, someone else and by doing so, you _will_ help me win."

With these last words he vanished into thin air and the young woman let out a long breath that she didn't even know she was holding all along. She pressed her hands on her skull, lightly pushing her hair back as she closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally and to calm her heartbeats down.

She had just talked with the Devil himself.

* * *

 _ **A moment later.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

"The Devil?!" The rough voice exclaimed from the other end of the line.

"No, the Queen of England!" Bobby sarcastically replied. "Yes, the Devil! Are you listening to a word I say or what?"

"I'm listening," Dean gruffly retorted. "But, what the hell does he want with her?" Dean asked, his voice remaining very agitated since Bobby recounted to him everything that Kate told him once she got back to his place.

"Apparently, he wants her to help him," Bobby replied. "Which means that he knows her true identity."

"He can see her soul through her tattoo?"

"No. She said that he told her he couldn't. But still, somehow he knew who she was," Bobby explained. "And, he certainly wanna use her as the weapon that the angels said she could be."

"She'll never say 'yes' to them and even less to him," Dean said and Bobby nodded even though the young man couldn't see him.

"Yeah, I know that, Dean. But, that's not what worries me right now. Katie told me that Lucifer didn't expect her to find out who he was that soon and she said that he looked almost _relaxed_."

"Of course Lucifer is chilled out. He's been partying out of his cage for some time now!"

"You don't get it, Dean," Bobby sighed. "He showed calm and patience. He's clearly not in a rush in wearin' Sam and getting' slayed down by Michael. Which means…"

"Which means he's preparing something," Dean finished.

"Exactly. And, I don't think Lucifer has a lot of plans for Saturday night," Bobby told him.

"Yeah, but what else could he be working on? I mean, he already got earthquakes, hurricanes and a fuckin' tsunami on the planet since he got out!"

"I guess that's just the start," Bobby muttered.

After a short pause, Dean asked, "She with you now?"

"No, she's takin' a shower," Bobby replied, not needing to ask who that 'she' was.

"Alright, I'll call you later. Sam just got back, I gotta tell him the good news."

"Right," Bobby scoffed before they hung up on each other.

The old man put his cellphone down on his desk and then rubbed his beard thoughtfully when the sound of his front door opening and shutting echoed. He looked over the doorway of his living room and not a second later, Matt walked in, letting out a long sigh.

"I searched from top to bottom, nothing. I'm pretty sure that it was the only nickel Lucifer put in my car," he said referring to the weird nickel they had found in his car earlier and that they had melted in flames when Bobby said that a spell was certainly casted on that nickel so that Lucifer could know where they were.

"Good," Bobby just said.

"You called the Winchesters?" Matt asked as he walked to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I just hung up on Dean," Bobby replied.

"And?" Matt asked as he opened the fridge and took two beer bottles out.

"And, he's thinking like me," Bobby responded as he took the beer that Matt handed him. "We're screwed."

"We were already screwed before the Devil came to Kate," the young man remarked as he opened his beer.

"We're even more screwed now."

"You think so?"

"What? You don't?"

"Well," Matt began as he tilted his head to the side before sitting down on the couch. "I'm pretty sure that whatever Lucifer wants Kate to help him with, she won't. She's not stupid, she knows he's the big bad boy. Besides, whatever happens, the Apocalypse's already here, right? It doesn't really change anything that Lucifer met Kate or not."

Bobby watched the young man quietly as he realized how wrong he was. The fact that Lucifer had met Kate changed absolutely everything. Not only did it prove to them that the fallen angel was slowly carrying out his plan, but it also showed them that Lucifer had in mind the same idea than the angels, which was to use Kate as a weapon. And now that he knew what Kate looked like, whether she had a tattoo shielding the view of her soul or cravings on her ribs keeping her out of the angels' radar, the young woman was inevitably in a higher danger. His last hope for her to not get too involved in all of this end-of-the-world mess, and for her to not die, was Chronos and his words. According to Matt, Chronos had said that he would come back to see Kate in a few months so they could do that still mysterious deal that could get her the answer about her arrival in this universe. And, if Chronos was true to his words, it meant that Kate will know how to travel back to her universe where she would be safe and sound while they handled the Apocalypse.

* * *

 _ **A few days later.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

Licking the mayonnaise off her fingers, the young woman reached out for the napkin with her other hand before wiping both of her hands. She opened the fridge and started putting the cheese, lettuce, ham and the bottle of mayonnaise back inside of it while making sure to have a good hearing of the two voices echoing in the living room.

With Matt gone to a hunt in Canada, Kate had spent the last couple of days at Bobby's just like it used to be. Bobby was supposed to go to that hunt but his condition had made it impossible so Matt offered to go instead. Kate was left to take care of the old man and to take a break from all the training the young hunter had been putting her in lately. Nevertheless, out of habit she continued the physical training that was jogging early in the morning and do some work-out in the night, although she surely did it much less intense than what Matt had her doing. Moreover, she, of course, helped Bobby with his researches. Thankfully, he wasn't grumpy anymore about her getting too involved in the hunting world. Kate was pretty sure that Matt had talked to him about that, but she also believed that the old man knew they couldn't keep her completely out of their world.

It was too late anyway.

She had seen and lived things that she would never forget. Even Zachariah's tortures that had been rubbed off her memories by the angels, had still left a bitter trace that would never leave her. Aside from that, her time by all these hunters' sides, had got her to witness more than what an ordinary person could take without having nightmares every night; which was her case, even though she kept quiet about that.

The young woman shook her head, trying to keep her mind from wandering in all of these thoughts that could only bring up a too intense stress and pain inside of her that she was trying so hard not to let get the best of her.

Grabbing the plate with the two sandwiches she had just made, Kate entered the living room as Dean's voice echoed from the phone Bobby had put on speakers minutes ago.

"It sounds crazy, right?"

She put the plate on the coffee table as Bobby replied to the young man on the other end of the line.

"No. There's lore on it. Goes back centuries," he grabbed one of the sandwiches and nibbled at it before continuing with his mouth full while Kate sat down on the couch just across of him. "Travelin' card player pops into town. You beat him, you get your best years back. 'Course, most folks lose."

Kate took a large bite of her own sandwich as she quietly listened to their conversation.

"Well, that would explain the crunchy corpse," Dean said, thoughtfully.

"Supposedly, this player's a hell of a card shark. Got a lot of years in the bank," Bobby replied through chewing. "You find the bar he's workin' in yet?"

"There's a lot of dives in this town. We're gonna have to split up," Dean simply replied.

"Well, why you still talking to me?" Bobby grumbled at him.

"Woah relax, Bobby. Sam and I got everything in hand. I-I just wanted to check if everything was alright back there?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm just asking-"

"Just go find that man," Bobby grumpily cut him off before hanging up and Kate looked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," she hurriedly said, shooting her hands up in defence.

Bobby watched her as she returned her attention to the open notebook on the coffee table. With one piece of paper and a pen nearby, the young woman had spent the last couple of hours reorganizing all of her notes from all the researches she had done about her situation. After that, she was planning on listening to that last recording of Pamela's and reorganizing all the notes from the late psychic's recordings as well. Needless to say, Kate had plenty of work to do in order to set every finds on her situation in a much clearer file. However, even though she claimed to want to get it all done by the time Chronos returned to see her, she wasn't rushing herself at all.

With her fingers playing with her newly cut short hair that barely reached her shoulders, her brown eyes reading her own notes and her free hand helping her nibble at her sandwich, Kate looked more careless than ever. Of course, Bobby knew better than to believe what she was showing on the outside. He knew that Kate was trying her hardest to keep her never-dying fear, concern and anxiety in check. He knew that she was doing her hardest to not show how much this life had infected her and was still infecting her. Nevertheless, Bobby could still sense a delicate glimpse of solace that this world brought to Kate.

The solace of not feeling alone, and to feel useful.

Dropping his gaze to his paralyzed legs, Bobby's thoughts were stirred back to what he and Dean just discussed about. The case Sam and Dean were working on right now, was outrageously intriguing. The possibility of winning some years back through a poker game was interesting. But, it wasn't youth that interested the blue-eyed hunter.

What interested him was the possibility of getting out of this chair. The possibility of standing up and becoming useful _a_ _gain._

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **First of all I wanna apologize to all of you for taking so long to update this chapter! Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoyed it. Especially since it seemed that you guys didn't really enjoy the last chapter seeing as there was just two reviews from two guests until the sweet 'BloodVesselandBacks' left two reviews.**

 **Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this for the reviews but a little feedback is always very appreciated. It helps the writer improve what needs to be improved and it also keeps them motivated and inspired to write more. Keep that in mind when you finish a chapter and you wanna read another one but it hasn't been updated yet ;)**

 **Guest 1: I'm happy that you enjoyed the 3** **rd** **chapter! People have been asking to know a bit more about Matt and I was afraid of the reaction after updating this chapter. But, to know that someone at least enjoyed it, makes me so very happy! Thank you very much for your prayers and for your review!**

 **Guest 2 : Well, that was a very uplifting review, thank you very much. I'm totally okay with you or anyone else not liking my story. It's human, some can love things that other hate and vice versa. But, saying that I should stick with my native language and stop writing in English, and that I should stop wasting my time with this story are both two things that are… Ugh. I don't even know what to say, because I believe that you have the right to speak your mind, but really, you should never tell anyone that they're wasting their time when they do something creative. Never. If you don't like what they do, just say it without telling them to stop it, and then just leave. I assume that you've read all of my story if your review was posted on the very last chapter I posted, so really, if you didn't like it, why did you bother reading all these chapters? Maybe, you thought it would get better? Well, sorry to disappoint, it's still the same pathetic story. Thanks for the review anyway.**

 **BloodVesselandBacks : Thank you very much for your sweet reviews! Not only were you so kind and supportive about the people trying to bring me down with their review, but you also left me another review that made my day (and I was having such a bad day so it was exactly what I needed!). Thank you for your prayers and thank you for leaving these reviews! I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
**

 **Thank you for everyone else who's reading my story, and for favouring, following it but also for favouring and following me! I'm very touched and all I hope for is for you all to keep on enjoying my story :)!**

 **Lots of love,**

 **A.**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is based on the episode '** _ **The Curious Case of Dean Winchester'**_ **(5x07).**

 **My sincere apologies for the many mistakes you will stumble across during your reading, I couldn't get this chapter beta-read either. Hopefully, my own proofreading was enough to make this chapter still enjoyable, though.  
**

* * *

 _ **Mason City, Iowa**_.

Thrusting his hands deep into his jacket's pockets, as he walked in the dark and quiet empty street, Dean wondered what exactly he was going to find at the back of that bar. The bartender had told him that it was there that the not ordinary poker games took place, but other than that, Dean was totally oblivious as to what he was going to find. For him, Witches had always been these filthy, evil assholes who casted terrible and unexpected spells. Least to say, Dean didn't have one single memory of facing a witch who wasn't a pain to him or to any other hunters, and that made him hate them nearly more than all the other creatures he's faced. He hated witches more than any other hunter; probably more than Bobby too. For years the old man had showed a very strong dislike to witches and everything related to them, and Dean found it quite paradoxical considering that Bobby performed some spells once in a while. Sure, these spells weren't aiming for anything evil unlike the witches, but still Dean always thought it was weird. Even though, it certainly turned out to be useful more than once.

Like that hex-bag in his pocket.

Dean wrapped his fingers around the tiny bag that the brunette had given him as his thumb slightly and absent-mindedly rubbed it and his mind gave him no other choice but to get memories fly back to him.

" _It's the archangel!"_ Castiel had told them as they were at Chuck's place that night Sam had freed Lucifer out of his Cage.

" _You gotta get out of here, now!"_ Dean had shouted at Kate. _"If they get you-"_

" _I'll be fine,"_ Kate had cut him off. _"You go to Sam!"_

" _I'll hold the archangel back! I'll hold them all back,"_ Castiel had told Dean before reaching with his hand so he could send the hunter to his little brother.

" _Wait!"_ Kate had shouted, pulling a hex-bag out of her pocket and then grabbing Dean's hand. She had put the tiny bag in the palm of his hand. _"Be safe!"_ She had told him before squeezing his hand close. Then his eyes had met her sparkling brown ones for a brief second before Castiel had sent him away.

Dean was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a clattering sound in the empty street. He set his jaw and frowned as he pulled his hands out of his pocket and started to slide his right hand to get his gun for whatever was coming his way. He was completely taken off guard when he saw no one but Bobby Singer himself rolling out of the big doors Dean was heading for.

"Bobby? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Planting daisies," the old man replied with sarcasm. "What's it look like? Came in on the case."

"And you beat me here?" Dean said, still confused by Bobby's presence.

"Well, brains trumps legs, apparently," Bobby replied as he wheeled around Dean who followed him with the eyes before walking after him. "Besides, Katie drove me here in no time. The girl can step on the gas when she wants."

"So, you're both here."

"Yep."

"And, where is she?"

"I left her at the motel."

"Alright... And, well, you found the game?"

"Yep."

"Did you stop it?" Dean asked him, his green eyes glued to the old man who kept wheeling away while he followed him. When Bobby didn't answer, Dean frowned, "Bobby?"

The hunter with a cap on top of his head turned around, "Not exactly."

"What did you do?" Dean asked him, his eyes boring into the old man's blue eyes.

"I played, okay?" Bobby replied.

"And?"

"I lost."

"Are you kidding me?" Dean told him, his rough voice sounding almost fatherly and grounding. "You played some—some he-witch?"

"Don't you take that tone with me," Bobby told him, his voice strict as his eyebrows knit together.

"You idiot!" Dean shouted at him.

"They're my years! I can do what I want!" Bobby shouted back.

"And Kaitlin fuckin' let you do that?"

"She don't know! I left her to book us in the motel you said you were at," Bobby replied. Dean eyed the old man for a couple of seconds, still not believing that he would be so reckless as to play some game with a witch. Bobby was everything but reckless when it came to witchcraft.

"How many years did you lose?"

"Twenty-five," Bobby replied. Right then, he aged before Dean's eyes.

The wrinkles on his face increasing as other wrinkles formed, his hair turned all grey, and in no more than two seconds Bobby looked drastically older than ever.

At that, Dean clenched his jaw and with seriousness he told Bobby that they weren't done before heading for doors the old hunter had walked out a short moment ago.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile.**_

 _ **The Cicero Motel.**_

After Kate had booked a room for herself and Bobby, she automatically secured the whole room with salt at every exits. Never once in her old life would she have believed that such a condiment would be so important in her life - _for_ her life. But there she was, tracing white and thin lines of salt along every windows of the room out of a habit that had become so natural for her and that made her feel a bit safer.

When she finished, she put the big salt container back in her duffle bag and put her hands on her hips as she looked around the room. The tiny growl of her stomach made her look down at her tummy.

"Alright, let's get some food," she told herself with a nod before spinning around. She grabbed her black leather jacket and put it on her simple white t-shirt before walking out of the room.

As she closed the door, she absently looked at her right and then at her left. She did a double take when her brown eyes spotted the taller Winchester brother down the hallway, closing the door of his own room.

"Sam!"

The young man whipped around at the sound of his name and when his bright hazel eyes landed on the brunette, five rooms away, his eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise to see her in the same hallway.

"Katie?" He said as he watched her walk towards him, her teeth biting down on her lower lip as she had a big grin of happiness on her face. Her steps were quick and in no time she was in front of the young hunter who still wore a surprised and confused expression.

"What are you doing here?"

"You're not gonna hug me hello first?" She playfully asked him and he let out a tiny chuckle before leaning down to hug her. Her arms wrapped around his large body in a nearly too tight embrace. She was truly happy and excited to see him after these couple of months without seeing each other. It was as though she was meeting again with a very old and good friend of hers, and thinking about it, that was the case. Sam may not have been a very old friend, but he surely was one good friend – one of the only friends she had in this universe, but sadly also back in her old universe. "Is it me or you're actually taller than the last time I saw you?" She told him as she stepped back, breaking the hug.

"Well, it's been a couple of months," Sam replied, his eyes traveling over the young woman's face. Although still very puzzled by her presence, Sam felt relief and joy to see that she looked healthy and rested. There had been quite a number of times when he saw her with dark shadows under her eyes, bruises or some tiny scars on her pale face. But, tonight he could see none of it. No dark shadows and no bruises on her not pale face. A faded scar was slightly noticeable on her forehead, but it was nothing compared to the other times.

"Still, I'm wearing heels. It shouldn't be legal to be that tall," she told him and he couldn't help but let out a light laugh.

"Look, don't get me wrong, I'm really happy to see you after all this time, but what brings you here?"

"Your case," she simply replied. "Bobby wanted to check it out and he asked me to drive him down here, even though he can drive his van on his own."

"So, Bobby's here too?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah. Well, he left to check something linked to your case. I think he got a lead on that witch," she explained.

"What? Already?"

"He's been doing researches the whole trip."

"And he actually found something?"

"Yep," she nodded, causing Sam to huff in amazement as he shook his head. "Where were you going anyway?"

"I was gonna get some dinner."

"Oh so was I," Kate smiled up at him, her smile being the contagious smile that it had always been, Sam's lips curled up into one as well. "Let's go together."

He nodded at her before they started walking down the hallway, "Which room are you staying in?"

"Three," she pointed at the door as they passed by it.

"Matt came along?"

"No, he's in Canada for some hunt Bobby couldn't go to," she replied as Sam looked down at her. "I didn't know you guys were staying in here. But I guess Bobby did since he's the one who made me drive past three hotels to get to this one - what?" She asked him once she caught him staring at her.

"Your hair…" He simply told her.

"Oh yeah... Long story short, never trust Matt Myers with a pair of scissors," she told him as she remembered that day she had asked Matt to cut a few centimetres of her hair but he had ended up cutting so much that it now went about an inch above her shoulders.

"It looks good on you," he told her and she glanced up at him.

"It looks less wild and pretty neat, huh?" She told him and he gave a little tilt of the head, not sure if he should agree with her or not. "Don't worry, if you keep growing your hair, one day you'll get it this long," she told him before playfully tapping his arm.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

 _ **The Cicero Motel.**_

"Well, I'm glad you didn't go with Matt, then. It's good to see you again," Sam genuinely told the young woman as they walked down the motel's hallway towards the room he and his brother shared. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she smiled, her hand naturally falling on one of his forearms as she gave it a quick friendly squeeze.

"You think maybe we should call Bobby? It's getting late," Sam told her as she dropped her hand away from him.

"Mmh. Why not? He was supposed to call me like half an hour ago. Maybe he found the guy." Sam didn't say anything as he unlocked the room and let her walk in first. "Looks like Dean's already back," she commented as she noticed Dean's jacket before glancing behind her at Sam as he pushed the door closed with his heel.

"Indeed," he replied, also noticing his brother's jacket while Kate put the takeout tray with burgers and soda on the table.

"Maybe I should come back later?" She asked in a whisper.

"What? No, he's gonna be thrilled to see you," he told her and she did her best not to let him see that she wasn't very sure of that. "Hey, Dean? I got a surprise for you here," Sam called, throwing a glance at Kate who bit on her bottom lip as she took her leather jacket off and put it in the back of one chair.

"I got a surprise too," a voice that didn't really sound like Dean's replied. Not a second later, Sam and Kate were both startled to see an old man wearing a simple bathrobe walking out of the bathroom instead of the young green-eyed hunter they expected to see. Sam swiftly drew his gun out, aiming for that old man with no hesitation.

"Who the hell are you?!" Sam shouted at him as Kate kept her gaze glued to the old man's face.

"Dude, relax. It's me," the old man replied before shifting his gaze towards the brunette. "Looking good, Kaitlin." Kate's eyes widened as she realized who that old man was and Sam wasn't slow to understand too as he lowered his gun, his hazel eyes suddenly noticing the familiar features of the old man's face.

"Dean?" He asked.

"Hi," the old man replied.

"What the hell happened?" Sam immediately exclaimed.

"I, you know...found the game," Dean responded as he headed for the food. Kate watched him, completely agape. He looked down at her, his eyes traveling to her short curly hair as an appreciative smile grew on his lips. He picked up a burger and with a wink he said to her, "I dig the new haircut."

"Dean, what the hell?!" Sam exclaimed.

"I told you! I found the game," Dean turned to look at him.

"I thought you said you were good at poker," Kate told him and Dean snapped his gaze back to her.

"I am."

"Apparently not!" Sam waved his hands out to him.

"Oh, shut up, Sam," Dean said grumpily before returning his gaze to Kate who was still staring at him as though it was the oddest thing she had ever seen whereas she had seen quite a lot ever since her arrival here. "So, Sam was just gonna shoot some old guy and you were gonna let him do? Is that it?"

"We didn't know what you were," Sam replied in his defence. "I mean, have you seen you? You look like—"

Although his mouth was full, Dean finished for his little brother, "The old chick in Titanic. I know. Shut up."

"That's slightly disrespectful," Kate told him. "But, that's pretty true, yeah."

"Well I was more gonna say Emperor Palpatine," Sam said, tilting his head as he watched his brother from top to bottom, still taken aback by his looks.

Suddenly, the door thud open causing both Sam and Kate to spin around and see Bobby rolling in the room. "I see you met John McCain there," he immediately said motioning to Dean who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"Either of you want to tell us what happened?" Kate asked, looking back and forth at the old man and the, well, _other_ old man.

"Bobby's an idiot. That's what happened," Dean answered.

"Hey, nobody asked you to play," Bobby snapped at him.

"Right. I should have just let you die."

"And for damn sure, nobody asked you to lose!" Bobby exclaimed at him causing both Sam and Kate to grin as they sniggered a laugh.

"It's like Grumpy Old Men," Sam said causing Kate to press her lips together to hold back her laughter while Dean and Bobby turned to Sam and spoke in unison.

"Shut up, Sam."

"What the hell were you thinking? He's a witch. He's been playing poker since guys wore tights," Dean told Bobby while Sam and Kate just watched their interaction.

"You just don't get it," Bobby replied.

"Yeah, I get it, Bobby. You saw a chance to turn the hands of the clock back and get out of that damn chair. Pretty tempting. I can imagine," Dean said to him.

"No, you can't," Bobby told him almost drily, and Kate sighed through her nostrils as she bit on her bottom lip, feeling bad for the old man.

Lately, the young woman had been on the front row to witness how not easy life had been on Bobby. She had noticed how it seemed that Bobby felt like having a cloud constantly raining on top of his head. He had also become grumpier about some things, even the stupidest of things. Besides, she often caught him staring at his feet for long minutes. It happened even more frequently whenever he had to say no for a case when a hunter called him. After such calls Bobby would spend a good hour staring at his legs – sometimes even longer. It was heartbreaking because she knew it was killing him to have this disability. She knew that he would give anything to be able to use his legs again; to stand up and to go to whatever hunts crossed his path.

"You got me. I've never been paralyzed. But I tell you something—I've been to Hell, and there's an archangel there wanting me to drop the soap. Look at me! My junk's rustier than yours! You hear me bellyaching? Huh?"

"Uh, actually, yeah," Sam told Dean who suddenly winced.

"Oh!" The elder Winchester exclaimed as he sat down, still holding his precious burger in one hand while the other clung at his bathrobe right above his ribs. "I'm having a heart attack." Kate immediately rushed to him as Sam watched Dean with worry.

"Where are you hurting?" She asked Dean, trying to make sure that it really was a heart attack as she was bent in front of him, her eyes filled with worry.

"He's not having a heart attack, Kate," Bobby said, rolling his eyes.

"Then what is it?" Kate asked, looking over her shoulder to the old man in his wheelchair.

"Acid reflux."

"Acid reflux?" Dean asked while Sam and Kate felt relief and slight disgust wash over them at the information. The brunette stood up and took a few steps back, putting her hands on her hips as she stared at the old Dean, a sigh leaving her lips.

"Guys your age can't digest certain foods. You're gonna need to put down that cheeseburger," Bobby told Dean who sighed and put down the burger. "So, you want to keep emoting, or you want to talk about solving this little issue of yours? It's gotta be about the chips."

"I slid 'em across," Dean said, illustrating the movement. "Patrick did his little witchy number, and you prettied up in a hurry."

"I mean, what are you all thinking? Some kind of magic chips or something?" Sam asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Could it be?" Kate asked crossing her arms over her chest as her brows furrowed.

"Definitely," Bobby replied, causing her to look at him.

"You remember what he chanted?" Dean asked Bobby.

"Yep—every word."

"All right, then let's find out where he stashes his chips," Sam announced.

"And steal me fifty. Benjamin Button me back into burger shape. What do you think?" Dean said, his eyes looking back and forth at his brother and the young woman standing next to him.

"I think you ought to put some clothes on," Bobby told Dean who sighed before standing up, grabbing his duffle bag that was laying at the end of one bed, and making his way back into the bathroom.

The instant he closed the door behind him Kate let out a heavy sigh as she dropped on the edge of one of the two queen size beds.

"Whenever I feel like I've seen the weirdest, your world always finds something else to blow my mind," Kate half-muttered to herself.

"Welcome to our world," Sam told her before walking over her and put the duffle bag that was next her, up. He fished a pen and a notebook out of it and turned to Bobby.

He handed the two objects to Bobby who thanked him before writing down the words he remembered. Kate watched the old man, a corner smile on her face as she felt her admiration for him increasing as he wrote down the exact words the witch had chanted.

"Dean's taking some time in there," Sam commented after a short moment of silence.

Kate looked up at him before looking over the bathroom's door, "Maybe he needs some help?"

"You think?"

"Well, sometimes old people need help for the simplest things," she shrugged.

Sam looked at her for a moment before letting out a long breath. He went over the door, glanced at Kate who gave him a nod, urging him to knock on the bathroom's door. Moving his gaze to the door, Sam slightly clenched his jaw as he obliged.

"What?" Dean asked from the other side of the door.

"You okay in there?" Sam asked, clearly sounding like he truly didn't want to have to step in the bathroom and help his brother put his clothes on.

"Y-yeah," Dean replied, sounding as though he was struggling.

"You sure?" Sam asked as he glanced at the brown-head watching him from her spot on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm nearly done."

"Well, I _am_ done," Bobby said, holding up the notebook in which he had written down the chanting the witch had done earlier. Sam walked up to him and took the notebook, he read the words the old man had just written down and frowned.

"What language is that?"

"No idea," Bobby replied.

"We don't care," Dean's voice said as he walked out of the bathroom. "All we need is to find the chips to chant those words and get my sweet, not wrinkled ass back."

Kate slightly frowned at him before shaking her head. She stood up, went to the table and grabbed her leather jacket from the chair she had hung it on. "We should go right away, then."

"Yeah," Sam said as he went to take his own jacket.

"What about dinner?" Dean asked, motioning to the takeout food on the table as he put on his own jacket.

"We'll eat in the car," his brother replied. "You can even have my salad."

"I'd rather have acid reflux than your evil meal, thank you," Dean told him when a knock on the door appeared.

Dean went to answer it and when he opened the door, he was surprised to find a pretty maid with a cart and an armful of towels. "Ready for housekeeping, sir?" She asked, smiling up at him.

Dean's lips stretched into a grin as he leaned against the doorway, "Born ready."

This caused the maid to laugh while the three others in the room watched the interaction in silence.

"You're just like my grandfather," the maid told Dean whose grin faded almost immediately. "He hits on anything that moves, too." She stepped past him into the room and then looked up at him, "You're adorable."

"And dangerous. In fact they call me Danger," Dean replied only causing the maid to laugh again before making her way to the bathroom. When Dean turned around, he was met by the smirks on both Sam and Bobby's faces, and by the amused expression on Kate's. "Can we just go?"

"Right away, _Danger_ ," Kate replied as she took the food while Sam and Bobby chuckled at what she had just said.

"Oh please, lead the way, _Cherry_ ," Dean told her as he went to hold the door open and waved his hand to the doorway while Kate frowned at him. It took the simple arching of one of his eyebrows for Kate to remember where that nickname came from.

"Shut up," she almost mumbled as she passed him by, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment that he would remember that day back at the strip club months ago.

"You know, you should show respect to your eldest, Cherry," Dean told her and she glared at him before continuing down the hallway. He turned his head towards the two other men still in the room. "Ah it's good to have her back."

Both Sam and Bobby snickered at Dean's sarcastic comment, before they walked out. The green-eyed hunter pulled the door closed, a smile forming on his lips as he watched the two men approaching the brunette at the end of the hallway.

"Yeah, it's good to have her back," he whispered to himself.

* * *

 _ **Moments later.**_

No matter how many times Kate could be told by someone or some book that witches had this tendency to be immortal, the young woman was still pretty shocked that the witch, Patrick, had stood up on his feet as though nothing had happened after being hit by a car. While she was still trying to remind herself all the things she had read about witches, Dean never stopped rambling about how cool this witch was compared to the previous ones they had met in the past. Apparently the witch's little thief of the car that ran over him, was something that amused the elder Winchester to the point where his little brother had to remind him that the witch was the bad guy who had taken years of his life – three times.

After a few minutes of following Patrick in his new car, Bobby pulled off his van in front of a skyscraper building. He and Dean who were sitting in the front, observed the witch as he walked into the building while Kate and Sam, sitting in the back, squeezed in the little space between the front seats, so that they could also have a look outside. Some time later, they saw Patrick walk out of the skyscraper and drive away, making it their clue to get out of the van and head for the building.

Sam held the building's door open as Kate rolled Bobby inside and Dean followed them. Once Bobby was inside, Kate knew to let him roll himself so she let go off his wheelchair and went to walk by the brothers' sides.

Bobby stopped and sighed as his eyes spotted the sign posted to the elevator, claiming that the elevator was out of order. "Well, I'm out."

"Maybe, only Sam and I should go," Kate suggested after glancing at the other old man standing there.

"Why no me?" Dean inquired.

"Well, you're not really in the best of shape," she acknowledged, earning a scoff from him.

"Just watch me, Cherry," he walked past her, towards the first of many flights of stairs that were waiting for them.

Kate sighed and then turned to look at Bobby as Sam went to roll him out of the building. She watched as the young man managed to push the door open with his foot before rolling the old man out. His natural kindness always warmed Kate's heart but in the same time, it saddened her. This time it pushed her into wondering if his guilt was still eating at him from the inside. She wasn't stupid, the many calls they had exchanged these past couple of months hadn't made Kate believe that Sam had finally redeemed himself. She was certain that he was still going through some inner struggles and that he still needed time to make peace with himself. All she hoped for was that these struggles of his were less big, heavy, intense and pressuring on him.

"Alright, let's go," the young man pulled her out of her thoughts as he quickly returned. She looked up at him and gave him a gentle smile before following him up the stairs.

In no time, they both arrived at the first floor where they found Dean with his hands leaned against his knees as he was trying to catch his breath.

"Dean, you're alright?" Kate asked and the hunter immediately straightened himself up.

"Of course, I'm alright. I was waiting for you two to catch up on me," he replied and Sam's eyebrows shot up on his forehead before he shook his head and went to jog up the stairs. Kate looked at Dean as he restarted walking and then she decided to jog up after Sam.

When she and Sam reached the second floor, she turned around to look at Dean who was still behind them, walking up one step at a time.

"Dean," Sam spoke, causing the old man to look up at him. He pointed to a sign indicating that they were only at the second floor which brought a long sigh out of Dean's lips.

"You can still go back to the van," Kate told Dean who shook his head frenetically.

"C'mon, Katie. When he's that determined, nothing can stop him," Sam told her, as he nudged her before nodding at the next steps.

"That's not determination, that's suicide," Kate stated before Sam continued jogging up the stairs with no difficulty while Kate watched the old man who was glaring at the sign 'level 2'.

Shortly after, Dean began to walk up the stairs again before he asked the brunette who stayed there, waiting for him, "Taking a break?"

"Something like that," Kate responded as he finally stood next to her. He glanced down at her but his old eyes lingered on her face, confusing her a bit before he sighed and they both went back into walking up the stairs at his slow rhythm.

When they reached the fifth floor, Dean stopped, one hand propped up against a wall as Kate studied him. As weird as it was to see Dean Winchester look this old, she was more worried about his health than anything else. He obviously was struggling a lot and that pained the young woman. "You know, you can wait here. I'm pretty sure Sam and I can search the apartment."

"Nah, I'm good," he replied, although completely out of breath. Kate bit on her bottom lip as she sighed through her nostrils, her brown eyes looking away from the stubborn old man. "Gotta say... I wasn't expecting that the next time I'd see you, you'd have shorter hair."

"Well, I wasn't expecting that the next time I'd see you, you'd be older," she told him back.

"Touché."

Dean watched her as she looked away, waiting for him to catch back his breath so they could go back into climbing up those stairs.

When she shifted her brown eyes to him, he didn't look away. Her eyebrows slightly frowned as he stared right into her eyes, a mixed expression of happiness and thoughtfulness all over his old face.

"What?" She asked him, feeling her cheeks getting warmer.

"Nothing. Just... You don't look as in panic as you used to," he told her.

"I used to look in panic?" She frowned at him.

"Maybe not the right word. But, you surely didn't look as relaxed as today. It's pretty nice to see you like that. Considering all that's happened."

"What has happened?"

"Well, first, Lucifer visited you."

"Guys!" Sam shout-whispered making both Dean and Kate look up through the tiny space in the middle of the stairs. Sam was looking down at them, his brown hair falling around his face as he gave them a facial expression telling them to hurry up.

"We're coming!" Dean shouted back before his brother's face disappeared as he went back to walk up the stairs.

Kate glanced at Dean before going back to walk up these stairs. The hunter watched her do for a couple of seconds, understanding that their conversation was certainly not going to continue. Taking a deep breath and pushing all of his thoughts in the back of his mind, he went back into walking up these stairs. Still one step at a time.

* * *

By the time Kate reached the floor where Patrick's apartment was, Dean was still a few steps behind. She glanced at him as he breathed hard and she sighed in exasperation of his stubbornness to come with them instead of waiting with Bobby. Deciding that she would just let him take his time, she made her way up to Sam who standing in front of the room 3701. The room that was supposed to be Patrick's according to Sam's quick research earlier. He glanced down at her and then over her shoulder.

"Where's Dean?"

"A few steps behind," she simply replied as she watched him sorting through his lock-picking kit before he started working on the door's lock meticulously. When the door clicked open, Kate's eyebrows rose as she whispered to the young man, "You need to teach me that."

Sam let out a light chuckle before they both entered the apartment, closely followed by the worn-out Dean.

The three of them didn't lose time as they immediately started searching the whole place for the poker's chips. However, it was harder than expected as the apartment was drastically neat and tidy, but a few minutes later Dean found something that surely contained the poker's chips. A safe.

"Sam? Kate?" Dean hissed.

When they came over and saw the safe, Kate sighed, "And how are we supposed to open that now?"

"It's a dime-store model. Piece of cake," Dean told her before he started to work on the dial.

"You guys know how to open this, too?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Dean smirked at her before returning his attention to the dial.

"It's like 'Mission: Impossible'," Kate giggled as excitement started to build up in her. Pretending to be a spy was a game that she used to play quite a lot with her cousin Alina when they were younger. Breaking in to find a safe and crack it open and take whatever the bad guy kept hidden, was one of the popular scenarios of their game. So, really doing it now was like a little nod to her younger-self.

She drifted away from her thoughts when she and Sam noticed Dean squinting his eyes and leaning in and out trying to get a better sight of the dial. Her face slightly dropped as her excitement left her.

"More like 'Mission: Pathetic'," Sam told Kate before shoving his brother out of the way. "Watch out," he said as he started to work on the dial. It took only a couple of seconds for Sam to have the safe open.

"I could've done that," Dean muttered glancing at Kate who was staring at Sam with what Dean was sure, was admiration. Dean shifted on his feet, a little frown appearing on his face as he moved his attention back to Sam who was starting to grab a handfuls of chips out of the safe.

"What are you doing?" A sudden feminine voice asked making the trio whip around to find a pretty blond-haired woman in a black dress.

"Aren't you the chick from the bar?" Dean asked her, frowning.

"I'm a lot more than that," the woman replied, holding up one hand that she turned into a fist and then twisted as she glared at them.

The three of them doubled over as a crushing pain appeared inside of them. Just like the two brothers, Kate was holding tightly at her sides, clenching her jaw in pain and praying that it would stop soon.

"It's all right, sweetheart. It's all right. They're harmless," Patrick ran into the room, his hand reaching out and putting the woman's arm down, causing the pain she was inflicting them to vanish.

"You boys and girl want chips? Take 'em. They're just chips, Einsteins. It's showmanship. This may come as a shock, but the magic does not lie in a pile of crappy plywood or in any phony abracadabra. It's in the nine-hundred-year-old witch. You want years? Score 'em the old-fashioned way. Texas hold 'em," Patrick smirked at them.

"Fine. Let's do it," Dean replied, glaring at the witch.

Patrick pulled a card out of a pocket and held it up, "What card am I holding up?" Dean squinted at the card, not making out that it was an eight of hearts at all. "That's what I thought. If your eyesight's that bad, what about your memory? I'm not a murderer. You, on the other hand..." He turned his attention to the taller Winchester.

"No, Sam."

"Dean-" Sam started.

"What, Sam not much of a player?" Patrick said before he moved his gaze to Kate. "Well, what about the lady here?"

Kate didn't say nor move an inch as Patrick made one step towards her. Although having old and tired legs, Dean was quick to step in between the brunette and the witch.

"Not her," he almost grunted.

"What no one else but you can play?" Patrick asked as Dean just glared at him. "Okay, well, happy trails, Dean. Enjoy the twilight of your life. Should have taken better care of that ticker, though." He went over the door and opened it, "You're free to go." With his eyes still glaring at the witch, Dean grabbed Kate's wrist before heading to the door and Sam just followed, "Oh, but, guys..." They all turned to face him. "Your brother's situation—that's punishment enough, but I can't let you leave without a small parting gift, Sam."

He then clapped three times, confusing the three of them as they watched him.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked him.

"You'll find out soon enough," Patrick replied before winking at Kate who was watching him without blinking once. "As for you, gorgeous, it would ruin my gentleman reputation if I gave you a gift of that sort, believe me. So I'll just tell you to spend one good night with your fellow friends here."

"Let's get out of here," Dean gently pulled at Kate's wrist, as the three of them left with the sound of the witch's door closing behind them.

* * *

As she held the building's frontdoor open for the two brothers, Kate couldn't help but frown at Sam who began to walk weirdly and to scratch the inside of his thighs as though something was itching him down there.

"Sam, you're alright?" She asked as he and Dean got outside.

"Y-yeah," he stammered, blushing like Kate never saw him do before. She let go of the door and quickly went to walk by their sides.

"Dude..." Dean started before Sam gave him a pointed look to keep quiet. "I believe that he-witch gave you the clap."

Sam went stiff for a moment while Dean watched him with an amused smile and Kate with real concern. Glancing at Kate, Sam's embarrassment intensified when he met her brown eyes. He swallowed down and quickly walked away, heading for the van while Dean laughed at him.

"You may look like a grandpa, but you're an actual five years old, Dean," Kate told him before going after Sam. "Sam, wait!"

* * *

 _"So, what you're telling me is that, I'm not special. If anyone else from any other universe travelled to this universe, you could turn them into that weapon?"_

" _Anyone yes, but not from any other universe," the brown-haired angel replied to Kate. "It has to be someone from your universe."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because the souls of your universe are the strongest and they make you a powerful vessel."_

" _So, a vessel doesn't have to be a rock hard built-up body? Good to know that there's no discrimination in what bodies you wanna use like toys," Kate sarcastically commented as she looked over at the beautiful blue flowery meadow that overlaid on miles and miles just a couple of feet away from her and the blond-haired angel._

 _The young brunette had no idea how long she had been in Heaven by now. Between all these few meetings with that angel who was wearing a blond-haired woman, and the few long days passed in a park with her father - or rather a copy version of him - Kate felt like she had spent weeks in this place. But sometimes, it felt like just a few hours; maybe not even more than twenty-four hours. Then again, she believed that just like in Hell, time must fly differently in Heaven too. Quite frankly, she didn't even care about that as long as she wasn't tortured anymore. The safety of those she cared about and who were still down there on earth, kept her very worried though. She knew that she couldn't consent into letting that weapon in her until it turned her into the weapon itself, so she tried to stay as brave and stubborn as possible when she faced the angels in their own home that was Heaven. All she hoped for was for Dean to do the same. She had no doubt that Dean wouldn't let the angels manipulate him again this time around, but the last time she saw him was back at Chuck's right before Castiel sent him to stop his brother from killing Lilith and therefore freeing Lucifer. She wondered if Dean had succeeded on stopping his brother before it was too late. She wondered if Dean ended up being the one killing Lilith. Or maybe Lilith ran away before he even got the chance to kill her?_

 _So many questions had been running in her mind ever since the angels took her with them. No matter how many times she asked for the angels to tell her if Sam and Dean were okay, they didn't say a word. All they had done so far was make her clothes vanish and getting replaced by a ridiculously too white and almost see-through dress as the only fabric covering her body, and also try to rub her up the right way. However they had quickly stopped trying to butter up to her as they realized she remained obstinately determined to refuse whatever they asked from her. But, ever since she woke up in this place, the angels never stopped behaving very nicely towards the young woman - too nicely, to be honest. Nevertheless, Kate didn't let her guards down, she knew she couldn't trust these angels. Even these long and sunny days with the copy of her father that they gave to her, only increased her anger and mistrust towards them. She felt as though they were insulting her father by using him to get to her._

" _Kate, you have to understand that to us, you are still very special-"_

" _I don't care about being special or not," Kate cut her off, frowning at her. "One of you angels have tortured me in order to make me manipulate a good man. You made me push that man into doing things that…" She paused and shook her head. "I don't care if it was written. I don't care if it was his fate to break that first seal or that his brother has to break the last seal. You call yourselves angels, soldiers of the Lord and makers of the good, but you've manipulated two good men into living things that no one should ever go through. And for that, I will never say 'yes' to you."_

" _Even if I guarantee your return to your universe? I have already told you that the doors will remain closed until Lucifer is eliminated-"_

" _That is if he's freed!" Kate cut her off again._

 _Then angel looked away for a second, as though stopping herself from saying an information that Kate didn't know. Then, she returned her gaze to the young woman in front of her. "If you want to help Dean Winchester so much, you will agree to become the weapon. And after we fight alongside against Lucifer, the doors will open, and we will be able to send you back. I make it my word."_

 _Unlike Zachariah, this angel looked and sounded sincere when she told Kate that she would send her back to her universe. However, with the memory of the fight with the other angels at Chuck's place, she knew she should keep on being wary of these entities._

" _Last time, you said that God was the only one who could open these doors… If He's gone, then even if Lucifer gets freed and is then killed, how would you even open these doors?"_

" _No, you don't understand. Some angels have the power to make dimension traveling possible... We all know spells, but to make sure that the other side is the right universe, it requires a great power that only a few angels own. However, after you arrived in this dimension, the doors closed and locked for safety. We have no idea if it was God's doing or if it was the Guardians. All we know is that keeping these doors closed prevent the Apocalypse to reach other dimensions."_

" _You seem to have done your homework this time. Or are you just telling me what you've always known but kept secret?"_

" _From the day of your arrival, we meticulously studied your situation. It led to some restructuration of Heaven and its hierarchy, since some angels had different views about you and also different ideas about what to do with you." The angel paused as Kate watched her carefully, trying to memorize every word that was said to her. "I was ordered to direct the study of your situation. And what I found was quite interesting but still very mysterious."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _It seems that you have encountered one of the Guardians a long time ago, but everything that happened back then remain thoroughly unknown, as though it was erased from what you might call our archives."_

" _You're talking about the Cleaner that I met last Halloween?"_

" _Yes, but not exactly last Halloween," the angel replied, causing Kate to feel even more puzzled. "But, this is not important."_

" _What? Of course, it is! Why can't you be clear and tell me exactly what you found about my case?"_

" _Once you agree to work with us, then I will give you every information you need to know."_

" _Oh, great,_ _ **du chantage**_ _…." Kate scoffed, slightly annoyed._

" _I am not blackmailing you, Kate. I am trying to make you understand that working with us, will not only save this world from Lucifer's fury and hatred, and give you the possibility to get a better understanding at your situation but it will also save you."_

" _Save me?"_

" _Save you from this universe that corrupted you so much that it destroyed your faith in God and angels."_

" _Guess who's to blame," Kate sarcastically replied._

" _I would say the Winchesters, but I know you won't agree with me," she replied before a very pensive look appeared on her face. She stayed quiet for a few long seconds as Kate observed her, trying to understand what was going on. "It seems like Zachariah has taken the reins to move things on… Sam and Dean are on their way to find out the truth about Michael's sword. I have to make sure that Zachariah doesn't ruin everything."_

" _Whatever happens, Dean won't say 'yes'!" Kate told her but the angel disappeared into thin air. "Come back! Naomi!"_

Kate pressed the heels of her hands on her closed eyes as she tried to take her mind off these memories of the few things that happened in Heaven after she was dragged away from Chuck's place by a couple of angels.

She dropped her hands at her sides and turned her face to look at the old man snoring on the other bed. Unlike her, Bobby had fallen asleep quite immediately two hours ago. He had laid down on top of his covers and unlike Kate, he hadn't changed into bed clothes. He had taken off his jacket and had rolled himself right next to the bed before using the strength of his arms to lay on the bed. Kate had offered him some help that he had unequivocally refused.

The young woman exhaled a long sigh as she got out of her bed and quietly made her way to the mini-fridge. She opened it and lightly groaned when she found nothing inside of it. She bit on her bottom lip, pondering if she should simply take a glass of water from the tap in the bathroom or if she could just walk down to the parking lot where she had spotted a couple of vending machines. Closing the mini-fridge, she grabbed some money from her wallet and slid her feet in her heeled boots, wishing she still had her old pair of converse shoes, before she silently walked out of the room.

Wearing a simple large t-shirt and Dean's old pair of shorts, Kate walked down the cold dim lit hallway, mentally cursing at herself for not having put on a jacket. Even though it was June and they were in Iowa where the weather was rather good at this time of the year, the night was still pretty chill, causing shivers to run along Kate's uncovered arms.

When she arrived at the empty parking lot, she couldn't help but throw glances everywhere around her, until she was facing the vending machines. She bought a can of soda and then turned her attention to the candy vending machine.

"Mmh, why not a little candy bar, too," she told herself as she scanned the different candy bars displaying before her eyes.

"Aah! Always a tough choice when it comes to candy!" A male voice startled Kate.

Whipping around to look at the man, the brunette was scared at first but when her eyes landed on the man, she felt her fear immensely decrease. The brown-haired man that was standing a couple of feet away from her, was about her height and he was wearing funny and almost ridiculous pyjamas which reassured Kate that he had to be an ordinary human who felt peckish.

"I hope I didn't scare you," he told her as he saw her put one hand over her chest.

"No," she shook her head, a little smile on her lips. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to be out at this time of the night."

"Trust me, if I knew I wouldn't be wearing this ridiculous pyjamas," he replied and she let out a little chuckle. "If you want a little piece of advice, this chocolate candy bar is amazing." He pointed to one of the candy bars while his other hand made its way in his pocket.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," he simply replied before he pulled out the thing he was looking for in his pocket while she bought herself that chocolate candy bar.

"Alright," she turned her head to look at him. "Thanks for the piece of advice," she waved the candy bar she was holding.

"Anytime," he smiled as she turned and walked towards the hallway, heading back for her room while he finished unwrapping the lollipop he had pulled out of his pocket. He put the candy in his mouth and sighed through his nostrils as he watched her go.

* * *

 **The next day.**

 _ **The Cicero Motel.**_

Standing in the bathroom of her and Bobby's motel room, Kate slowly traced the thin line of eyeliner on top of her second eyelid before putting the tool down on the edge of the sink. She checked her reflection, making sure that she had applied her eyeliner well before her eyes started to travel all over her face. It seemed to never stop. Whenever she would look at a mirror, she wouldn't be able to help it but to scan her entire face. From the scar on her forehead that she had on a hunt with Matt to the shadows that she would have sometimes under her eyes, there was always something making her fix at her own reflection for long minutes. However, now that the scar on her forehead was just a tiny fading trace and that she had rather restful nights erasing the shadows under her eyes, she shouldn't be watching her reflection that much.

But, she was.

Lately, it seemed that when she was facing a mirror, everything around her disappeared. Everything around her seemed to lose its importance and all of her thoughts revolved around what her life had come to be. It was as though her own reflection could not only remind her of her constant fear, but it also reminded her of how complicated her life had become, and how different she had become. It wasn't her new haircut or the eventual scars and bruises that would cover her face that made her see how different she had become. It was something that she could see in her own eyes. A glimpse of hardness that she never thought she would see in her own eyes.

A glimpse of hardness that _terrified_ her.

A sudden knock on the door startled her away from her thoughts. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before speaking out, "Yes?"

"It's me," Sam's voice replied from the other side of the door. "Just wanted to tell you to meet us in our room once you're done."

She quickly went over the door and opened it, "I'm done."

Sam smiled down at her before his eyes travelled lower and a crimson red blush appeared on his cheeks and neck as he eyes immediately snapped his gaze up, right above her head. Kate looked down and noticed that her blue flannel was still unbuttoned and all she was wearing underneath it was a black bra.

"Oh God!" She hurriedly started to button her flannel. "I'm sorry, Sam! I didn't wanna embarrass you!" She apologized as he took a few steps back, keeping his gaze away.

"It's alright," he mumbled as he spun around and shook his head before finding great interest in the design of the paper-wall as he tried to wipe away the image of Kate's cleavage.

"At least, it was you and not Dean," she nervously chuckled, glancing up at the young man who was giving her his back as she finished buttoning up her clothing.

"Yeah, with his 80-year-old heart I don't think he would have gone out of this without a heart attack."

"Wow, is that flattery I'm hearing?" Kate asked, trying to ease the little tension that was in the room.

"N-no," he stammered, feeling as though flattering would mean he was trying to hit on her. "I wasn't trying to flatter you-"

"Well, now that takes my self-esteem very low," she began.

"No, no! There's nothing wrong with, um, your," he told her, gesticulating with his hands but Kate couldn't see since he wasn't facing her. "It's just, you're curvy and I... Can we please stop and forget that conversation?"

"Please, yes."

"Good."

"Yeah," she nodded as she stared at him. "Um, Sam, you can turn around now."

"Oh," he spun around, his eyes meeting her for a second before he glanced down at her now covered chest. He looked right back up to her brown eyes and swallowed down the embarrassing situation they just went through. Clearing his throat, he headed for the door before abruptly stopping and turning around to face her with squinted eyes.

"What?"

"Um, I hope it doesn't sound like I was peeping at you, but, um" Sam began, flustered with embarrassment as he threw a glance away before refocusing his eyes on the young woman. "You had your demo protection tattoo there?"

"Oh," Kate let out, feeling her own cheeks flushing at the realization that he had seen the tiny round tattoo she had done on her left breast. Its diameter was slightly longer than a nickel and yet he had seen it in a short couple of seconds. "Um, yeah. I-I got it there because the tattoo lady told me that it was going to hurt less there than the one I got on my shoulder blade for hiding my soul."

"Oh, alright, I just…" He trailed off, not knowing what to respond.

"We can forget that conversation too, if you want?"

"Please, yes."

* * *

When Sam and Kate met the old duo in the brothers' motel room, the four of them looked up for a way to reverse the witch's spell for long hours. Sam focused on the internet research while the three others studied books over books. However, neither Bobby's books nor Kate's notes about witchcraft came up as useful. All the reversal spells they came across were either made for specific spells either too weak for the one casted on Dean.

"Alright, I need a break," Sam announced as he slapped his laptop shut and leaned back in his chair at the table where he was sitting across Kate.

"Same," Bobby sighed as he tossed the book he was studying on one of the beds.

"Wanna go grab some lunch?" Sam suggested to the old man who nodded before rolling towards the door. Sam grabbed his jacket and went to open the door, "Katie, you keep an eye on Dean?"

"Looks like I don't have much choice, you're both already heading out," she replied as Bobby rolled out.

"See you in a few," Sam smiled at her before closing the door behind him.

Kate stared at the door for a few seconds before she heard the bathroom's door open, "Where's everybody?"

The brunette turned her head towards Dean, "They went to grab us some food."

"What kind?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "But, certainly not burgers for you."

He snorted at that and she forced her gaze to look down at the book she was taking notes from. Although she immediately found her concentration back, she could feel a pair of eyes observing her. After a few seconds, it started to become distracting and she did her best to ignore it, but after a couple of minutes, she snapped her brown-head up and looked over at Dean to find him staring right back at her.

From the bathroom's door against which he was propped up, she realized that he wasn't even doing any efforts to pretend he wasn't staring at her. _Again_.

"What? I got something on my face?"

"No," he simply replied as he kept the eye contact. "You look different."

"Yeah," she scoffed. "Not as in panic as I used to look like, I know. You've already told me."

"No, that's not what I meant," he responded. "Look," he sighed, walking up to her as she followed him with her brown eyes. He pulled the chair that was next to hers and sat down. "I'm... I'm sorry for being a jerk to you."

"When?" She asked him, causing him to give her a look before replying.

"These past couple of months. I... I pushed you away because I thought that was what I had to do. I thought you'd be safer without me, but," he paused as the words of his future-self echoed in the back of his head.

" _If I hadn't let her and Bobby go on their own, or if I had come just a few minutes earlier, or just if I was with them… With_ _ **her**_ _… Then, maybe… You have no idea what I would do to just…"_

Kate's voice got his attention back to her, "But, you realized that it was the same, whether I was with you or another hunter?"

"No," Dean shook his head, looking away. "It's not the same. No other hunter has an army of angels on their ass and no other hunter is as screwed up as I am. _But_ ," he shifted his old green eyes surrounded by wrinkles, back to her young brown eyes. "I don't trust any other hunter to protect you the way you should be protected."

"Dean, I don't need protection," she softly began.

"Why? Because Chronos said he'll see you in a few months? That's your insurance?"

"So, Sam told you."

"Of course, he did. It ain't because I'm not callin' you everyday that I don't ask about you," he told her and she tried her best not to look taken aback by this news.

"Alright, then you must know what that means. Chronos knows the future and if he knew I was going to die, do you really think he would've told me we'll see each other in a few months?"

"Kaitlin, you can't trust him," Dean tried to make her understand. "You should never trust anyone in this universe."

"I trust you," she softly told him. His green eyes roamed over her face in silence, as though he was surprised she would trust him. Although he was damn sure that she trusted Bobby with her life, he had doubts about her trusting him, too. It was good to hear her say it. "Look, I'm not saying I trust Chronos. Heck, I really don't! But, I know that he needs something from me. And even though I'm not sure I'm gonna say yes to whatever deal he wanna do with me, I still know that him wanting something from me, insures me that I'm not gonna get killed or whatever else. Well, until I see him, at least."

Dean breathed out through his nostrils as he looked down, nodding his head, "Well, you may look different, but you're still the same stubborn girl."

"Says the man who insisted on climbing flights of stairs that worn him out," she replied, causing him to give her a playful annoyed look. Looking down, she bit on her bottom lip for a couple of seconds and asked, "What do you mean when you say, I look different?"

"You look less... Less scared and more at peace," he replied. "I guess, spending some time with Matt wasn't that bad, huh?"

"I guess," she simply replied, her brown eyes looking down at his hands. "Where's your ring?"

"Huh?"

"You usually wear a silver ring, here," Kate stated as she put the tip of her forefinger on the ring finger of his right hand.

"Oh yeah. Well, it seems that my fingers are a bit thicker now that they are wrinkled, so I had to take it off," he replied and she glanced up at his face before returning her attention to his hand.

She slowly slid her hand under his to hold it up in the space between them. Her soft thumb softly traced along his now very visible veins on the back of his hand. His skin was so wrinkled that it slightly moved along her thumb.

"It was my mother's," Dean mumbled out causing Kate to frown up at the old man in puzzlement. "The ring. It was my mother's."

"I didn't know," she whispered.

"How would you?" He replied, and she studied his face for a few seconds before his green eyes shifted down to his hand still held up by hers.

"Sorry," she gently let go of his hand. "It's just so weird to see your hands like that… To see you like that."

"Tell me about it. This spell ain't that bad, I never thought I'd see myself with grey hair and wrinkles."

"Well, in the future," she gave him a little smile before he scoffed, shaking his head. "What?"

"I've been in the future, Kaitlin… No grey hair for me."

"You've been in 2014, I'm pretty sure it's normal if you didn't have that much of grey hair back there," she told him in a playful tone. "If you went to a further future, you would have seen yourself just as shrivelled up as today."

"I don't think so… In 2014, I saw myself die," he revealed in a serious voice, his gaze moving away. Kate wasn't expecting this response and if Dean had looked at her, he would have seen it on her face.

"What happened?" She asked, causing him to look right into her eyes.

These sparkling brown orbs were filled with that genuine softness, concern and caring that he came to associate with her as though she was the only one who could own these features in her personality. He was staring into her eyes like she was going to disappear right before him; which was of course going to happen sooner than later. But, this time he didn't care about Chronos possibly sending her back to her universe in a few months. This time he was too lost in her to even care or think about that. All he could think about was these words that his future-self had told him and that started to make more sense as he looked at her now.

" _All I can say is that I wish it didn't take the end of the world for me to open my eyes to what was always in front of me."_

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

Kate was lost deep in her thoughts as she and the three hunters walked in the motel's parking lot, heading to their rooms after having lunch at the dinner's right across the street. Right when Dean was going to tell her what had happened when he was in the future, Sam had phoned him, telling him that he and Kate should meet them right away at the dinner. Of course, even though Dean looked like an eighty-year-old man, he was still the same Dean who took advantage from any situation to avoid any too personal conversation. Kate hadn't commented on that when he immediately stood up and they headed for the dinner where Bobby and Sam were waiting for them. However, that had bugged the young woman quite a lot. During lunch, she had found herself unable to keep from throwing glances at the elder Winchester while her mind was racing with questions about what happened in the future.

Ultimately, all she knew was that Dean had been sent to 2014 by Zachariah as an attempt to persuade the hunter into giving his consent for the archangel Michael to use him as a vessel. When Sam had contacted her the day following Dean's return, Kate had figured out on her own that what Dean saw in the future had pushed him into getting his brother back with him. For sure happiness and relief were the first feelings that washed over Kate when she learned that the two brothers weren't apart anymore. Nonetheless, she'd be lying if she didn't say that the next conversation with the younger Winchester hadn't caused a shiver to run down her spine. Indeed, it was during that second phone call that Sam had told her that he was Lucifer's vessel. That bad news had built up in her a whole new level of worry for the two brothers. She knew far well that this news would deeply affect both of the brothers. This news had gotten her to overthink so much for days and days, that it had affected her nights as her dreams were filled with what her thoughts were filled of during daytime.

These old dreams of her and Zachariah at the _Place St Michel_ in Paris.

She should have understood that Zachariah hadn't chosen this place out of her favourite souvenirs. She should have understood why he liked bringing her by that fountain where a statue of St Michel was triumphing over the statue of Lucifer. She should have been able to read between the lines. She should have known…

"Little help here?" Bobby's voice pulled her out of her thoughts nearly harshly.

She turned to face the old man in his wheelchair only to see Sam already going behind him and pushing him up the incline. She let a little sigh out of her nostrils as she freed her bottom lip from her alternating chewing-biting she had been doing unconsciously.

"You know, I still think I should play," Sam declared as he looked over at Dean who was walking next to Kate.

"No, no, no," Dean immediately replied as he stopped walking and the three others did too.

"Maybe I could give it a try?" Kate chimed in.

"You're not serious?" Dean told her.

"Why not?" Kate asked, surprised by the expressions on the three men's faces. "Do I have to remind you that I beat you _and_ Bobby more than once that night we played poker?"

"Yeah, um about that night, you do know that he and I lost on purpose, right?" Bobby said to her.

"What? No you di-" She began before the look on Bobby's face made it clear that he was serious. She looked up to see Sam giving her one of his apologetic smile. "But-"

"Wasn't my idea back then. I didn't want to make you believe you're good at poker when you're not," the younger Winchester said causing Kate to go agape for a second.

"And what am I then?"

"Pretty lame," Dean replied causing her to whip her brown-head at him, her soft curls dancing in the air.

"Don't worry, playing cards ain't that important," Bobby reassured the young woman who was staring at the other old man.

"Well, this time it is. Which is why I should play," Sam stated as everyone looked at him.

"Sorry, Sammy but you're not good enough. I mean, I'm better. Bobby's way better. We both lost." Dean simply explained.

"Exactly," Bobby agreed.

"So, what? So I don't get a say in this anymore?" Sam asked, frustration obvious in his tone and his facial expression.

"Sammy, when you get to be our age –" Dean began, only to be cut off by his little brother.

"You're thirty, Dean!" Kate looked up at Dean, a funny frown on her face before Sam continued, "Look, I've watched you hustle plenty of poker-"

"Knowing the game is not enough, Sam. It's not about playing the cards-" Bobby started.

"It's about playing the other guy. I know that," Sam finished.

"Well, hooray for you. All I'm saying is, I played this guy. I know his style. I can take him."

"No, Bobby. You don't have enough years in the bank," Dean shook his head.

"I got enough."

"No, he's right. You'll die if you lose, Bobby," Kate insisted.

Although her tone was gentle, Bobby snapped at her. Actually, he snapped at all three of them, "So what if I do, huh? What exactly am I living for, huh? The damn apocalypse? Watching men die bloody while I sit in this chair, can't take a step to help 'em?"

"Bobby…" Dean began.

"No, no. It's the facts. I'm old...and broke down...and I can't... I ain't a hunter no more. I'm useless."

"You're not useless, Bobby," Kate softly told him as the sorrow of watching him talk like this, reflected all over her face.

"You saw me these past days, Kate. You saw how many hunts I had to say no to 'cause I can't walk. 'Cause I _am_ useless. And if I wasn't such a coward, I'd have stuck a gun in my mouth day I got home from the hospital."

Sam, Dean and Kate were all taken aback by what the old hunter had just admitted to them. The hard and sad reality of Bobby's struggles hit them like a slap in the face. Unlike other slaps, this one stung much more and it caused them all to feel an odd catch at their hearts; an odd catch that was so painful it brought a lump in their throats.

"Bobby, you are not playing again," Sam said shortly after. His voice was even gentler than usual, but this gentleness was almost hidden by the determination of his words. "I'm not letting you do that. There's another way out of this. There's gotta be. And I'm gonna find it."

With these last words, the young man walked away, leaving Dean and Kate to stand there with a silent Bobby who was avoiding their gazes at all costs.

* * *

 _ **A short moment later.**_

With a rather breaking voice, Kate announced that she needed to check something in her room before letting Dean and Bobby continue down the hallway towards Dean and Sam's room. Neither of the two men commented on her voice, but they weren't oblivious to it, and they both knew that she was probably in need of space so she could get over what Bobby had just told them. Frankly, this latter felt a bit bad for admitting the way he was feeling since he got stuck in this chair. He had never wanted to make them feel bad, and he knew that he had just done that now. He knew what the consequences of his words were going to be. Now on, Sam and Dean would feel even guiltier about launching the Apocalypse and the worry-nature of Kate's would just go wilder.

Dean opened the door and let Bobby roll inside first, but the instant the old man got in, closely followed by the other old man, they were both stopped abruptly by what they saw. A blonde woman sitting on one of the two beds. And not any blonde woman. Patrick's lover who had tried to kill Sam, Dean and Kate the night before.

She held up a piece of paper, "Take it. It'll help you."

Bobby rolled closer and took the paper, "What is this?"

"The most powerful reversal spell you've ever laid your eyes on."

"And it reverses what?" Dean inquired, looking at the woman with suspicion filling his eyes.

"Patrick's work—all of it."

"You—you saying I could be normal again?" Dean asked her, hope echoing in his voice.

"You and everyone else he's ever played," she replied before correcting herself, "Who's still alive."

Dean eyed her, folded his arms over his chest and asked, "Why the hell should we trust you?"

"Trust me, don't trust me. I don't care," she stood up and headed for the door they let wide open. "The spell is real."

"If it zaps everyone, don't that include your man?" Bobby asked her, suspicious as for why she would give such a spell to them.

"And me, too. I look good for my age," she replied in a casual tone.

"Lady, this don't add up for squat. Why would you want that?"

"I have my reasons," she answered Bobby as her fingers went up to touch her silver locket. She turned her head to Dean as she dropped her hand down. "Do it quick. We leave town tomorrow."

Kate almost walked into the woman as this latter left the room. She turned her head to look at the blonde-haired woman walking away and then she looked at Bobby and Dean, "Wasn't it-"

"Samantha from Bewitched? Yeah," Dean nodded. "She gave us a spell."

"A spell?" Kate frowned, closing the door behind her as she walked in.

"A reversal spell," Bobby explained, his blue eyes remaining glued to the paper with a list of ingredients and words to be spoke out loud in the performing of the spell.

"It can undo all of her lover's doings," Dean added.

"Why would she give us that?"

"Who cares?" Dean shrugged before he took his jacket off, threw it on one bad and headed to the bathroom.

Kate shifted her gaze back to the man in his wheelchair, the words he had said earlier still echoing in the back of her head ever since he spoke them out.

When Dean closed the bathroom's door, Kate took a deep breath and with a very soft voice, she began, "Bobby-"

"Katie, please. I don't need this," he cut her off.

"You don't need what?"

"A pep talk," he told her, sounding stern and nearly annoyed.

"I wasn't gonna give you a pep talk," she almost whispered. The old man looked up at her, pretty surprised that this wasn't her intention. Although he didn't have the same eyesight than when he was in his twenties, Bobby noticed that the little makeup she had put on her eyelids earlier was gone and replaced by a little puffiness.

"I'm sorry-" He started as he was feeling truly bad now that he was certain she had gone to their room so she could cry over what he had said to them.

"Don't," she interrupted him, shaking her head. "You don't have to be sorry about anything, Bobby. You…" She paused to force back the tears that threatened to fill her eyes again. "I just wish you could see yourself the way we see you, the way _I_ see you. Whether you are in a wheelchair or not, it doesn't change the way I admire you, and I just-" She was stopped by Bobby's cellphone ringing in his jacket's pocket.

"I… I gotta take this," he told her and she simply nodded. "Why don't you look up the ingredients for that spell?" He handed her the paper the witch had given them a few minutes ago and then answered his phone, his blue eyes glancing up to the brunette as she took a deep breath and silently walked past him to sit at the table, in front of Sam's laptop.

* * *

Within a couple of hours, Kate had managed to gather all the ingredients for the reversal spell. Some ingredients were already in the Impala's trunk or even in the back of Bobby's van, while the others had to be bought in some little shops which the addresses Kate had found on the internet. All that was missing was the jawbone of a dead murderer and the witch's DNA. While the bone could be rather easily found in a graveyard, the second missing ingredient requested more mischief. It was Sam who came up with a plan to get the DNA. Indeed, when he had come back to the motel, he had almost immediately pitched the idea to take the toothpick that Patrick seemed to chew all the time. The saliva on that little stick of wood guaranteed the success of that reversal spell, but to get it, Sam had to take some risks. The plan was to let Sam play poker against the witch so he could get close to him and steal that toothpick. Kate didn't like that idea, finding it way too risky, and although Bobby and Dean agreed with her, they all knew that it was, unfortunately, their only chance.

Thus, when the sun went down, Sam drove the Impala to the back of the bar where he would have to face Patrick. He patiently waited for his watch to tell him that it was time for him to go in and play against that witch. Meanwhile the three others were in one of the town's graveyards, digging a grave as fast as they could. Or at least, Kate was digging as fast as she could while Dean tried his best with his old body full of old muscles and old bones, and Bobby sat at the foot of the grave since he couldn't help them dig up.

"Jawbone of a murderer. Why can it never be less gory and gross?" Kate said as she stuck the shovel in the dirt, breathing almost as hard as Dean, as she never slowed down her quick rhythm.

"'Cause you ain't on a T.V. show, kid," Bobby replied.

"Maybe in some other universe," Kate mumbled loud enough for Bobby to snort before she continued digging.

"You know," Dean said, breathing very hard. "This really sucks. How do we even know her spell's gonna work?"

"We don't. But we ain't got a Plan B," Bobby replied.

"Hey, less flapping and more digging," Kate ordered to Dean as she nudged him. He turned to look at her as she continued, "Otherwise get out of the hole and let me do it all alone."

He stared at her for a couple of seconds, not expecting her to be this bossy before he went to move another scoop of dirt. "Oh, God!" He suddenly moaned in pain, causing Bobby to roll his eyes and Kate to widen hers.

"Y-you okay?" She reached out to him, already feeling bad for ordering him around while he was clearly not in shape to do any of the things they were doing.

"My elbows! I'm all creaky."

"Hurry up, you crybaby," Bobby told him.

"Pound it up your ass, Ironsides," Dean replied.

"One little grave. And Kate has been doing all of the job herself! You've barely dug out five shovels full of dirt!"

"Then you do it!" Dean shot at him.

"Fine. I'll hop right in," Bobby sarcastically responded.

"Well, least your legs are numb."

"Shut up and dig, Grandma," Bobby said before Kate groaned at how crazy these two old men were both driving her.

"You know what, Dean? I'd rather do it on my own."

"No way, I'm not gonna let that idiot think I can't dig out."

"You know what the idiot says to you?" Bobby glared down at Dean.

Dean mumbled something under his breath before shoving the tool with force in the dirt, "Oh! Now it's my back!"

"Can you straighten up?" Bobby asked as Kate and he looked at Dean.

"Yeah, but a little sympathy wouldn't hurt," Dean growled as he put his hands on his lower back.

"Butt cheek tingling?"

"Well, that's kind of personal, Bobby," Dean replied glancing over at Kate who rolled her eyes at him.

"So yeah?" She told him.

"Well," Dean muttered with a tilt of his head.

"It's sciatica. You'll live. Keep digging," Bobby said, causing Dean to look up at him.

"You know, Bobby, killing you is officially on my bucket list."

"Yeah, no, it's no gonna work," Kate shook her head. "I'd be much more productive on my own. Get out Dean."

"No-"

"It's not a suggestion. It's an order," she sternly commanded.

"I'm not gonna-"

"Look, you either do that or _I_ get out of here and just go find Sam and play against the witch, too," she told him and he fixed at her for a moment before giving up as he handed her his shovel. "Thank you."

He didn't say anything in return as he put his hands on the grass and tried to climb out of the hole, "Oh no! My back again!"

* * *

 _ **An hour and a half later.**_

"You should remain seated, Dean," Kate told the hunter as her brown eyes followed him pacing back and forth in the street's hallway for about ten long minutes now.

"I can't," he almost quaked. "It's driving me mad not to know what's happening in there."

Kate sighed as she walked away from the wall she was leaning against and approached the old green-eyed man. She put one hand on his arm, stopping him, "Everything's gonna be okay. You know that, right?"

He looked down at her and then at her hand for a moment, before moving his gaze back to meet hers, "You think?"

"I _know_ ," she smiled up at him, causing the corners of his mouth to rise as she gently squeezed his arm.

Suddenly, Sam burst through the doors from the room where he had been playing poker against the witch for quite some time now.

Both Dean and Kate went over to him, "How's it going in there?" The young woman asked.

"How do you think it's going?" He scoffed before he looked back and forth at her and his brother. "What about you? You have everything you need?"

"We still need a little he-witch DNA," Dean replied as Sam held up the toothpick he said he was going to take from Patrick.

"He was chewing it," he informed them as Dean took the little stick in between his fingers.

"Good job," Kate told him as he sighed.

"Hurry up, guys. Please," he told them in a pleading tone that puzzled Kate.

As she wondered how bad it was going on in there, Dean replied to his brother, "Alright. Just keep him busy. And, Sammy...don't lose."

Sam headed back to the doors when Kate quickly went over him. She grabbed the hem of his jacket's sleeve, making him stop and look down at her. The expression on his face disturbed Kate a bit, but she still gave him one of her kind, comforting and supporting smiles, "We're here."

She hoped that these words would give him enough support for the pressure and whatever else was happening inside, and when he responded with a gentle smile of his, she let go of him. She watched as the doors closed behind him before she turned her head to look at Dean who was standing there, rubbing at his left arm as though it was aching. She slightly frowned at that before he headed to the van where Bobby was waiting for them.

* * *

"Airmidh mi air maponus, dia— na hogalachd. Gairmidh mi air sucellus, dia na time," Bobby chanted the reversal spell as he was sat in the back of his van where they had settled a bowl full of all the necessary ingredients burning in flames as the spell required.

Dean and Kate who stood right outside the van, looking at Bobby, stayed quiet as he performed the spell. Kate threw a handful of some ingredients they had smashed into dust in the flames, causing them to flare up blue.

"Till an-dràsda obair uile gu bheilair a bhith deànta. Mar sin bitheadh," Bobby looked up at Dean. "Drop it in."

The green-eyed hunter looked at the toothpick in between his forefinger and thumb, almost studying it as he silently prayed for the spell to work. He brought the toothpick above the bowl and added it to the fire before letting out a breath that even he didn't know he was holding.

After a short pause, he looked up at Bobby and then at Kate, "Well? How do I look?"

With sad eyes, Kate shook her head ever slightly at him, causing him to sigh in defeat.

"We need a plan B," Bobby stated.

"No, we need to get Sam out of there!" Dean almost roared as he started to head towards the doors.

"What? No!" Kate shouted after him.

Dean turned around, "That witch obviously played us. Her reversal spell isn't working-"

"It's not her spell that's not working, it's the toothpick," Bobby argued.

"How can you be so sure?" Dean demanded.

"Because I checked the spell and I can assure you that it's legit," Kate explained to Dean who looked at her. "Patrick must have fooled Sam with the toothpick."

"You think he knew we were gonna do that spell?" Dean asked them as he returned near the van.

"Maybe. I mean everything we put in that spell was kosher," Bobby replied.

"Yeah, everything except the damn toothpick," Dean groaned before he rubbed a hand down his still old face. "So, what now?"

"We gotta get another speck of DNA," Kate sighed, folding her arms over her chest.

"And, how do you wanna do that? Stick another toothpick down his throat?"

"No, but, we could go back to his place," she told him.

"Good idea," Bobby nodded. "Strap on your track shoes, Dean."

"Oh, goody. More stairs," Dean nearly whined.

"No, you stay and I'll go on my own," Kate firmly said, her brown eyes staring at him with seriousness.

"At the two of us we'd be quicker to find some DNA," Dean told her, and as she roamed her eyes over his aged, wrinkled face, she realized how quick they had to be. Simply because if the toothpick wasn't covered with any trace of DNA, it meant that the witch knew what they were up to. And, if he knew then it meant that it was only a question of time before he let out his fury at them.

* * *

 _ **Moments later.**_

Dean and Kate had been searching the apartment from top to bottom for a few minutes now and they were both starting to lose hope in finding the slightest thing covered with the witch DNA.

"It's too damn clean in here. First witch I ever heard of didn't spew bodily fluids all over the place," Dean exclaimed as he met Kate in the living room. "You found something?"

"No. It's like he doesn't even own a toothbrush or a comb!" She threw her hands in the air.

"Maybe he doesn't need any of that. A little spell and he's ready for the prom," he told her and Kate gave him a look that told him she didn't want to joke right then. "Wrong time and wrong place to joke, I suppose?"

She shook her head, bringing her hands up to tangle her fingers in her hair. She was beyond frustrated and worried, the whole situation was starting to get the best of her, "We need to find something or I might just stick that toothpick down his throat like you said!"

"Huh," Dean huffed as he stared at her. "Never thought I'd hear you saying something like that."

"Well, I'm on the edge right now, and when I'm on the edge, I can't control what comes out of my mouth," she replied, her intense frustration making itself very obvious in her tone.

"Hey," Dean gently said to her as he put his hands on her forearms and slowly pulled them away from her hair. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay, Dean! If we don't find a way to cast that spell, you'll stay like that forever!"

"Not forever," he slightly tilted his head.

"You're right. Just until you die, which might be sooner than ever now that you're an acid-refluxing machine on creaky old legs!"

"And that's a bad thing?" He asked, taking her off guard. Her brow furrowed as she watched him going over the couch and sitting on the edge of it. "Maybe if I'm this old, Michael won't want me as his vessel. And since your ticket back home is insured by that Chronos guy, there's no way the angels are gonna use you," he moved his gaze up to find that the brunette already had her full focus on him. "The truth is that I'm tired, Kaitlin… I'm tired and even if it's just the beginning, this battle against the Devil seems to go nowhere. So, maybe, it ain't that bad. Maybe, it's my chance to die old."

"What the hell are you talking about? Dean, you're still thirty. Even if you don't look like a thirty-year-old guy right now, you're still thirty."

"It ain't just my looks, Kaitlin. I can feel how old and tired my whole body is. Hell, my legs are still in pain after these freakin' stairs. And, my heart…" He put his hand on top of his chest, right above where his heart was under his ribs. "I can feel how exhausted its beats are. It's like I'm running a marathon while I'm just sitting. And, all of this may sound bad, but it actually feels good. It feels good to know that maybe I won't have to fight that fight. Maybe I won't have to see Lucifer wearing my brother to the prom like I saw him in the future," he looked down as Kate listened carefully to his words. Although she didn't know that Dean had seen Lucifer possessing Sam in the future, she wasn't taken aback by that news; she was too concerned by the confession that Dean was giving her. "Maybe, I'll get that peace I've been waiting for all my life."

"Dean," Kate softly whispered as she crouched in front of him, her hands naturally dropping over his, while her eyes looked deeply into his. "You remember when you told me that I looked different? I think I know why. I'm trying my best to look different, but I'm _not_ different. I'm still awfully scared inside. Still 'as panic as I used to be'," she quoted him. "But that doesn't mean I'm giving up."

"Yeah, that means you're keeping things from us again," he told her.

"No that's not what it means." She took a deep breath and continued, "That means that you're not the only one wishing you could be in someone else's shoes. Just like you, I have my own fears, and so do Sam and Bobby. But we don't give up. What would you do if Sam told you the same thing than what Bobby told us earlier or what _you_ just told me? Huh?" Dean looked away and she knew she had stroke a chord; the right chord. "Sam needs you. _We_ need you, Dean." He frowned as he shifted his gaze back to hers. "It may sounds completely weird, but ever since last night, I'm less scared than I am when I am on my own or with anyone else. You… You make me feel safe, Dean. And, if you give up, I don't think I'll ever feel that way. So please," she begged as she slowly stood up, pulling her hands off his hands to rest them on his wrinkled cheeks. She gently made him look up at her, "Please, don't give up."

With every word she spoke, Dean could see the sincerity in her eyes, and as she held her hands against his cheeks. He felt _it_. That odd feeling he loved so much. That soft, soothing and comforting calm feeling that seemed to beam from no one else but her. He couldn't deny it anymore. He couldn't push her away anymore. He knew how much he needed to be comforted, supported and taken care of. She was the only one who had succeeded giving him all of that with her kind words and soft touches. The sole presence of that young woman brought him all he had been dreaming to feel his whole life. Maybe it was because she was so naturally kind and compassionate, or maybe it was because she was foreign to their world. The reasons for her to make him feel this way remained mysterious for the hunter, however he knew he couldn't deny it. He knew he couldn't shut it out.

"Alright," he whispered and Kate smiled down at him before slowly putting her hands away.

"Alright… I'm gonna search the apartment again, you take a break, okay?" She told him and he simply nodded at her.

When she turned around, heading for the kitchen, Dean realized that this peace he'd been waiting for all of his life, was there, in the shape of a stubborn young brunette from another world, and he truly didn't want to let it go. It was strange and he wondered what he had done to deserve her kindness and comfort, just like he had wondered what his future-self had done to deserve this impossible girl to stick by his sides.

Very shortly after, Dean started to feel a painful discomfort in the centre of his chest, just like a strong squeezing from the inside. The pain increased so much that it pulled him completely out of his thoughts as he groaned in pain. He stumbled forward, falling hard to his knees and slumping to the floor.

Kate immediately turned around and rushed to his sides, "Dean! What's wrong?!"

She put her hands around him as he turned around and lied on the floor, gasping weakly. She started to fear the worst as she stared at him.

"Dean! Stay with me!" She hurriedly pulled her phone out to call an ambulance as she understood he was having a heart attack. But as she tried to take her phone out, her eyes spotted two glasses of wine on top of a little corner table.

One of the glasses had the trace of red lipstick while the other didn't. No doubt, the other was Patrick's. It was their chance to reverse the aging spell – their chance to save Dean.

Without thinking twice, she ran to grab the glass and slammed the door open, running towards the stairs that she was going to run down the fastest she had ever run in all her life.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile.**_

 _ **At the back of the Bar.**_

"So," The dark-haired witch said as he slapped down two cards and spread them out with the young Winchester watching carefully. "When it's about your brother, you get so emotional, your brain just flies right out the window. Good to know."

"Go to hell," Sam growled at him as Patrick put down a third card.

"If you think you're gonna impress that brunette of yours, you should maybe think twice about it, pal," Patrick continued as Sam gave him a bitch-face before he took his cards in hands.

Setting his jaw, Sam shoved all his chips into the middle, "I'm all in."

That caused Patrick to check his cards before looking up at him, "Don't do that, Sam."

"I can't leave until it's over? Fine. It's over. Now, where's my brother?" Sam told him, worry painted all over his sweaty face. He knew he had to hurry up in order to save his brother from the inevitable death that his old age was threatening to give him right now.

"Look, there's poker and then there's suicide," Patrick explained as he felt a little bit of sympathy for the young man.

"Just play the hand," Sam sternly said in response.

"Fine," Patrick eventually said as he added all his chips to the pot.

As they continued the game, Sam felt some more drops of sweat forming on his forehead and on the back of his neck. He could feel his already racing heart beating faster and harder against his chest, but he did his best to ignore it and to keep his whole focus in winning over the witch sitting across of him. He didn't have any other choice. Now that the reversal spell couldn't be done, all hope of saving Dean rested on Sam's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, kid. Aces full," Patrick smugly said as he turned over his face-down cards.

Sam looked down at the cards and let out heavy breath. The sound of sniffling made him look over at the blond-haired witch standing a few feet away from the table they had been playing the game at.

"You're crying," the young hunter commented, quite stunned. Patrick turned to look at his lover and she looked away, trying to quiet down her sobbing. "For a witch, you're so nice, it's actually kind of creepy… It's okay," Sam turned his attention back to Patrick who looked back at him without saying a word. "It was a great hand." Patrick let out a smug huff before he moved to collect the chips, when Sam continued, "Just not as great as," Sam paused as he turned his cards and displayed the only ones that could beat Patrick's cards. As thin as the odds were for Sam to have these cards, he did have them. "As four fours."

Patrick's eyes moved back and forth to look at Sam and then at the cards. When Sam took a deep breath of relief and then let it out, Patrick leaned back, another self-content smile appearing on his face.

"Well played," Patrick said, impressed by the young man. "You know, that whole...going-out-of-your-head bit—very method." Sam smirked at him as he felt relief still washing over him. "Well, there's more to you than meets the eye. You must be happy to know that your lady will be amazed by your triumph," Patrick rose his glass.

"Cash these in for Dean, please," Sam just ordered him.

"With pleasure."

* * *

Kate was running down the stairs as quickly as she could, with only one goal in mind. Getting to Bobby in time for him to perform the reversal spell again and save Dean from the heart attack he was having. The sudden realization that a heart attack could kill faster than she could run down these stairs made her trip on the stairs.

Groaning, she tried to quickly stand up when she felt a stinging pain in her left palm. She looked down, bringing her hand up as her eyes went round at the sight of the broken pieces of the glass.

She gasped as she moved back on her knees, her brown eyes never looking away from the broken glass. "No…" She let out in a broken whisper as she realized what she had just done. "Oh my God, no…" Both of her hands shakily went over her mouth as she started crying.

The only sample of Patrick's DNA was smashed into pieces of glass mixed in wine and some blood-drops from the little cut inside her left hand.

She failed him.

Dean Winchester was going to die and it was all her fault.

She failed him.

"Kaitlin!" Dean's familiar deep voice echoed from behind her. She was certain that it was in her mind, so she closed her eyes tight as other tears started to stream down her face. "Hey Kaitlin! You okay?" She heard his voice ask with concern again before she felt strong hands helping her up on her feet.

"I fell and I broke the glass with the DNA, and I-" she cried, never opening her eyes.

"And, I'm here," he told her.

"Yeah, but the glass," she looked down at the broken glass and Dean put his hands on her shoulders causing her to look up at him.

"We don't need the glass anymore," he told her, his green eyes staring right into her crying brown ones.

It hit her all of sudden that she was talking with Dean. Dean was standing before her eyes. He was his thirty-year-old young-self and he was alive.

Dean was young and alive.

Dean was alive.

In a heartbeat, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a tight hug that took the breath out of him.

"Hey," Dean gently murmured at her ear as he brought his hands around her waist and hugged her back. "It's alright," he rubbed his hands on her back, trying to comfort her as she sobbed in the crook of his neck. She tightened her grip around him as though her life depended on that very gesture.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

"Hey, come on Kaitlin," he pulled away so that they could look at each other, his hands still around her waist as her own hands remained hanging on his shoulders. "What are you apologizing for? Look at me, I got my baby face back," she couldn't help the little chuckle of relief that came out of her.

"I thought… I thought I had failed you," she admitted and he frowned at that. "I thought I had failed you just like I failed my friend back in high school, and just like I fail so many-"

"Stop. You never failed anyone. If there's somebody in all the freakin' universes out there that cannot fail anyone or anything, it's you," he told her, his apple green eyes looking right into her chocolate brown ones.

"Thanks for the comforting pep talk," she smiled at him as he scanned her whole face.

"Right back at you," he replied, referring to all she told him in the apartment a few minutes ago.

Her brown eyes travelled all over his young, smooth, wrinkleless freckled face as a smile full of relief danced on her lips. "It's good to see you… I mean the real you… Not that you weren't real before but-"

"I got it," he cut her off, slightly smirking. She sniffled, pulling her hands away from him which caused him to do the same. He took a step back, eyeing her from top to bottom before he noticed a red drop leaving her left palm. He took her left wrist and turned her hand over. He made a little grimace when he saw the few tiny cuts that the broken glass had made on her skin. Seeing this reminded him of these cuts she had done with her own nails because she had tried to silently endure the pain of Zachariah's tortures.

"It's nothing," she told him, understanding what might be running in his mind. "Doesn't even hurt."

"You still need to get it clean," he told her as he put one tiny piece of broken glass out of her skin, causing her to wince. "Doesn't even hurt, huh?"

"Shut up," she whispered and he looked up at her, his eyes scanning her face as she stared down at their hands.

"I meant it, you know? When I said I was sorry for being a jerk to you." She looked up at him, but didn't say a word. She knew he meant all of the things he had told her; he always meant all of his words. "Come on. Bobby must be worried sick in his van right now."

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **The Cicero Motel.**_

It was almost eight in the morning and everyone had slept only five hours after the long and stressful previous night. However, Bobby, Sam, Dean and Kate were still wide awake and full of energy. As a matter of fact, Kate had been the first one to wake up and Bobby had been the second one to wake up. He had heard the shower running as the young woman needed to take a cold shower to forget about the nightmare she had in these few hours of sleep. Although, when she stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and drying her short brown hair with a towel, she didn't mention the nightmare at all. She didn't think it was necessary since it was just a dream in which she had been attacked by demons; more or less the usual kind of dreams since she got into this world.

After a few minutes during which Kate quietly folded her rumpled clothes and tossed them in her bag, Bobby pulled himself up with the strength of his arms and then dropped himself in his wheelchair. He was already dressed for the day since neither he nor Kate had changed into pyjamas before going to bed the night before. The old hunter went to the bathroom to wash himself as best as he could considering the motel's bathroom was unfortunately not installed for people on wheelchairs, and of course he never once asked for Kate's help.

Moments later as he saw she had finished packing her stuff in her duffle bag, but also finished packing his bag as well, he suggested to leave right away since the two brothers were certainly still sleeping. Nevertheless when they got out of their room, they spotted Dean walking out of the room he shared with his little brother. The young hunter told them he and his brother were wide awake and that he was on his way to buy some breakfast while Sam was packing their stuff. Thus, Bobby and Kate eventually decided to stay with them and leave the motel all together.

After about fifteen minutes of conversation during which, after Bobby's request, the younger Winchester recounted once again how he had won the game against the witch, the old man was still utterly dumbfounded.

"No tricks—you actually beat the guy?" Bobby asked, his blue eyes staring up at the young man who spread his arms as though showing him that he couldn't believe it himself. "How the hell?"

"Just lucky," Sam smirked before looking over at Kate who was leaning against the wall nearest to the frontdoor they had let wide open since it was pretty hot. "But, I gotta say that I was inspired by Katie."

"Me?" Kate pointed at herself as a quizzical expression splashed on her face.

"Yep," he nodded. "That night we played poker, you had a good hand. But, you kept tapping your fingers on your cards, in nervous excitement. So, last night when I realized I had a very good hand, I decided to show how nervous and hopeless I was by doing that little tapping," Sam shrugged.

"So, that's what gave me away that night," Kate said to herself, but it was loud enough for the two men in the room to hear her.

As Sam chuckled, Bobby spoke, "So, all you're sayin' is that you're good at bluffin'."

"No, I'm just good," Sam replied and Bobby rolled his eyes.

"You know, Sam, it's actually frightening how fast you can go from fully humble to outrageously pretentious," Kate playfully commented as Sam laughed, walking towards her to get his jacket that was on top of the table next to her. He grabbed it and headed for the door right when Dean came back with a bag of food in one hand and an already nibbled-at burger.

"Hey," Sam told him. "Alright, I'll see y'all guys later."

"Where you going?" Dean asked, chewing on his food while Kate walked over him to take the bag containing their breakfast.

"I hope we don't have burgers for breakfast, too," Kate told the elder Winchester as she glanced down at the paper bag she was now holding.

"Pancakes and other stuff," he replied her before nodding at his quiet little brother. "So, where you going?"

"Uh...mm, nowhere," Sam replied, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. They all stared at him, waiting for him to say the truth and when Dean glanced down at Sam's crotch, Kate pressed her lips together and looked over at Bobby. The look he gave her, told her that he was wondering the same thing. "A booster shot," Sam replied, pulling the attention of everyone back to him. Dean opened his mouth, ready to come up with something smart to tell him, but Sam held his finger up, "Don't say it."

With that Sam turned and left, leaving Bobby, Dean and Kate in the room. The young woman went to sit at the table, her hands digging out some wrapped pancakes.

"Hey Katie, I think we better get the van loaded and then we can have breakfast on the road," Bobby told her while Dean looked at them.

"You don't wanna wait for Sam to come back?" She asked him.

"I think it's better to go now," Bobby replied, his voice almost too little which was very unlikely him. Dean put his burger down on the table as he held a finger up, causing the old man to stop rolling towards the door.

The dirty-blonde hunter cleared his throat and looked at Bobby, "I shouldn't have called you an idiot."

"Which time?"

"I'm sorry," Dean said and Kate bit on her bottom lip, sensing very easily that she shouldn't be here at the moment. It was one of these moments she just knew, she wasn't supposed to be around. "I mean, I actually—I, I—I get it. Getting old ain't a bachelor party. And, dealing with the crap you got to deal with-"

"Don't you go on pity patrol," Bobby told him as Kate tried to make herself as invisible as possible.

"I'm not. I'm not. I'm just...I'm saying, you know, if I was in your shoes..."

"You'd never stop complaining," Bobby finished for Dean. The young hunter stared at him for a moment.

"Fair enough," he replied before a silence settled in the room. Dean threw a glance at the brown-head sitting completely quiet at the table.

"Do…" She began with a very little and hesitant voice. "Do you want me to get out?"

A corner smile formed on his lips as he exhaled through his nose and turned his head back to the old man sitting in his wheelchair. With serious and firmness, Dean looked right into the blue eyes of the old man who meant so much to him and he told him, "You're not useless, Bobby."

"Okay. Good talk. C'mon, Kate, let's go," Bobby said as he patted his duffle bag that was on his lap. He started to roll away before Dean stepped in his path.

"No, wait a minute. Listen to me," Dean pulled one of the seats that were at the table. He sat down and sighed before looking over at the still quiet-as-a-mouse brunette.

" _You… You make me feel safe, Dean. And, if you give up, I don't think I'll ever feel that way. So please… Please, don't give up."_

"You don't stop being a soldier 'cause you got wounded in battle. Okay? No matter what shape you're in, bottom line is, you're family. I don't know if you've noticed, but me and Sam, we don't have much left. And, Bobby, I can't do this without you…" He paused, glancing over at Kate. " _We_ can't. So, don't you dare think about checking out… I don't want to hear that again… Please, Bobby… Please, don't give up."

The room was silent for five long seconds.

Five long seconds during which Dean intensively and desperately stared at the old man, praying that he would understand what he had just told him. Five long seconds during which Bobby not only realized that his love for these Winchester boys was truly and deeply reciprocated, but also that his feeling of being useless was a fear that he had to get rid of. Five long seconds during which Kate realized that she was wrong. Even though everything showed her that Sam and Dean were alright as long as they had each other, she knew that they needed more than each other. They needed someone to take care of them, to reassure them, to comfort them and to help them keep fighting. Who else than Bobby Singer, the man who had treated them as though they were his own sons, could do that?

"Okay," Bobby whispered, avoiding Dean's eyes as he still felt ashamed for how he was feeling.

"Okay," Dean nodded. "Good." He turned his head to look at Kate and he realized that he wasn't the only with a bit of tears in his eyes; her brown orbs were also filled with tears. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment as hundreds of thoughts swung in their minds.

"Thanks, Dean," Bobby said, causing the young hunter to turn his head back at him. Bobby looked up, his blue eyes meeting the green ones in front of him. After a very short moment, Bobby continued with his usual grumpy tone, "Now, we done feeling our feelings? 'Cause I'd like to get out of this room before we both start growing lady parts. No offense, Katie."

"None taken," she just said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Dean cleared his throat, "Yeah, we're done." He stood up, picked up his burger, looked down at it and put it back down before grabbing his duffle bag. He slung it over his shoulder and grabbed Kate's duffle bag that was nearby the wide open front door. "Let's go, Ironsides."

"Oh, that one's sticking, huh?" Bobby exclaimed.

"Just like 'Cherry' will stick," Dean smiled as he looked back at him and then at Kate, before leaving.

Bobby sighed and then headed for the door, before looking over at Kate who hadn't moved from her spot. "You coming, kid?"

"Yeah…"

Bobby frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Just… You're gonna keep that promise, right? You're not gonna give up…"

"I'm gonna keep that promise," he assured her and she nodded at him, a real smile forming on her lips as she stood up. He watched her for a moment as she grabbed the bag of food, and then he turned around and left the room.

The young woman looked around the empty room when her eyes caught a glimpse of something shinning on one of the bedside tables. Slightly frowning, she went over and saw that it was Dean's ring – the one that belonged to his mother. She took it with her free hand and looked at it. She twirled it in between her forefinger and thumb, wondering how it came that it fitted Dean's finger just as it fitted his mother's, when she noticed something was craved in the inside.

"Hey, you coming?" Dean's voice appeared, making her turn around to look at the young hunter as he walked into the room. His green eyes fell on the ring she was holding in between her fingers, "Damn, I didn't even realize that I hadn't put it on."

He crossed the room and stopped in front of her, glancing up at her face before returning his gaze to the ring. She cleared her throat and handed it back to him, "Here."

"Thanks," he looked at his mother's ring in between his fingers now. He wasn't even aware that Kate was watching his face, trying to read what was on his mind as he held the tiny object that once belonged to the woman who left him and his little brother too soon. He slowly slid the ring around his finger, a wistful yet nearly melancholic expression on his freckled face.

"How come it fits you?" Escaped her mouth in a soft whisper. Dean looked up at her, questioning her with one look. "The ring… You said it was your mother's, and I just-"

"She used to put another ring to prop it up."

"Oh."

"She… She didn't want to get it worked because that's the ring my father gave to her when she was pregnant with me and her fingers were kinda swollen back then," he explained, his voice wistful as she just stared at him. He shrugged, looking away, "That's what my father told me anyway. Could be a lot of bullshit so I could stop annoying him with my questions."

"I'm sure that wasn't bullshit. Just like what you said to Bobby wasn't bullshit," she gently told him, causing him to return his gaze on her. She gave him a smile before walking around him, heading for the door.

"Was it bullshit?" He asked as she arrived at the doorway. She turned around, confusion written on her face. "What you told me back in Patrick's apartment… Was it bullshit?"

" _ **We**_ _need you, Dean_ … _It may sounds completely weird, but ever since last night, I'm less scared than I am when I am on my own or with anyone else. You… You make me feel safe, Dean. And, if you give up, I don't think I'll ever feel that way. So please… Please, don't give up."_

Kate studied his face for a moment, her teeth biting down on her lower lip as she wondered when Dean Winchester was ever going to stop thinking that every comforting words that were spoken to him, weren't true. This man had qualities and faults that made him such a beautiful human being, and she knew that she was lucky to have crossed his path; she just wished that he could see himself the way she saw him. She wished that he could know how much she admired him for his many strengths and his few weaknesses. She just wished that he could know how worthy he truly was. Then maybe, just _maybe_ , he would get that peace he told her he had been waiting for his whole life.

"I wouldn't have been mad at you for sending me with Matt if all I said was bullshit, would I?" She gave him an almost smug smile.

"I suppose. But, when Sammy asked you to come back with us, you still said 'no'," he told her as he walked towards her.

"Because Matt needed me," she replied as he stopped right in front of her.

"So, if I asked you to come back on the road with us, now… What would you say?" He unexpectedly asked her, his green eyes looking straight into her sparkling brown eyes.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **So, what did you think of this chapter? I truly hope you enjoyed it because I really enjoyed writing it and watching that episode again and again in order to write this chapter down. I had forgotten how funny Old-Dean was :)!**

 **By the way, 'chantage'= 'blackmail'. When we, French speakers, say 'du chantage', the literal translation would be 'some blackmail'. But, of course in this context, it wouldn't sound correct in English - or at least I suppose it wouldn't sound as good as saying 'blackmailing, huh?', especially considering the tone Kate uses when she says it. Just thought I should explain it, in case it confused some of you.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and for leaving these sweet reviews! You guys don't know how much I needed this feedback.**

 **HaRose: So glad you liked that fourth chapter! As for how Dean is gonna react towards Kate after what he saw in the future, well, you'll find out more about it on the upcoming chapter ;). And, this is actually one of your MANY reviews on this story, so don't worry! I'm sorry if I sounded like a freaking brat when I asked for reviews, but I really needed to know if you guys still enjoyed my story… Especially after that Guest review telling me how much of a waste of time my story is… Anyways, I'm sincerely happy to hear that you like my story so far, and I'm so very touched that Kate is one of your favourite OCs in a Supernatural fanfic. I don't have the words to tell you how much it means to me to know that someone likes Kate that much. I love writing her, and I'm always afraid she'd come not realistic enough and also annoying… So yeah, thanks for your review! Can't wait to read more from you :)**

 **Wolfenergy17 : Hahaha! Sorry, Bobby did it. He put Kate into having to see wrinkley Dean. But, apparently, it didn't affect her that much. I guess she's starting to understand to expect the unexpected in this universe, huh? Anyways, I'm so glad and relieved to know that you keep on reading my story even if you don't leave a review everytime. I mean, you don't have to! You can totally enjoy reading my story without leaving a review, but yeah, like I said in my reply to HaRose, I truly needed some feedback the last time. As for Lucifer meeting Kate, I'm happy you enjoyed that! On the previous version I had Lucifer meeting Kate about four times before she realized who he truly was, but having lost that version and trying to quickly rewrite this story, I decided to only make two meet-ups. Although, it seemed a bit rushed, I truly wasn't inspired enough to come up with new ways for them to meet again and again before the big revelation. Then, I apologize if the version I posted seemed rushed. As for your phone, I just laughed so freaking hard! The same happens to me. Whenever I wanna write something that begins with 'Su', my phone suggests 'Supernatural'. I guess I text too much about it x). I hope you liked how the 'gang' got back together! Now, we have to wait and see if Kate will say 'yes' to Dean's offer to come back on the road with him and his little Sammy. Like always, thank you very much for the review :)**

 **Theblkdahlia666: Thank you so much for leaving this kind review :)! I'm so glad to know that you enjoyed my story and I truly hope, you'll keep on enjoying it!**

 **Wideawakepastmidnight: Thank yoouu for reviewing! Very soon, you'll find out what Lucifer has in store for our impossible girl, just be a little bit patient ;)! I hope I didn't let you down with the way Kate reacted to seeing Dean all wrinkled up. Just so you know, she will make fun of him about that in the future ;)**

 **Like always, take good care of you and your loved ones,**

 **A.**


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is based on the episode '** _ **Changing Channels**_ **' (5x08).**

 **It was beta-read by the amazing 'I-got-zapped' so kuddos to her :)**

* * *

 _ **One week later.**_

Propped up against the bar counter, Dean worked his magic as he said a few words to the brown-haired barmaid, causing her to break into a fit of giggles like a teenager. It was almost outrageous when the barmaid leaned a bit forward to show more of her cleavage as she poured the three shots that were on the little tray she would bring to his table. Of course, the barmaid's action only made Dean's eyebrows raise on his forehead as a content smirk appeared on his lips. She slowly straightened up with a seductive smile on her cherry red lips, then grabbed the three beer bottles that were at her left and slowly put them on the same tray.

"You're sure you don't want me to bring this down to your table?" She asked, her voice as seductive as possible as her big brown eyes surrounded by a smoky makeup, looking right into his green eyes.

"You're a waitress, now?" He asked in return, a seductive smirk plastered on his face.

"I can be whatever you want," she whispered to him, causing him to arch one eyebrow.

The dirty-blonde hunter was going to say something in return when a couple of customers rushed at the bar, attacking the barmaid with a list of drinks they wanted to order. Dean let her work as he walked up to the booth where his brother was deeply buried in a notebook. The dim lights of the grimy bar and its smell of cheap perfume and booze didn't seem to distract Sam from his reading ever since they got here about an hour and a half ago.

"Dude, seriously, we're in a bar," Dean exclaimed as he put down the tray with all their drinks.

Sam looked up at him, "So?"

"So, we're here to celebrate our hunt, not to look for another one," Dean waved at him and the notebook laying on the table.

"I'm not looking for another hunt," Sam replied as he grabbed one beer bottle by its neck. "Besides, you've taken so long there that I started to get bored."

It wasn't false. Dean had been flirting up at the bar with that barmaid for over half an hour now. But as he threw a glance over her, he knew it was worth it – or at as worth it as a one-nightstand could ever be – and he was sure that it would help keep his mind off all the thousand things that constantly ran in his mind.

Ever since his trip to the future, Dean's views on certain things had sort of changed. Not only was he more afraid and worried as to what the stakes to his decisions were, but he was also deeply concerned about Kate. His future-self and future-Castiel had both told him about her being on his sides before she died, and he had seen a picture of her standing in front of the Camp Chitaqua. All of these things meant only one thing for the man: Kate didn't make it back home.

For some reason, whatever deal Chronos had told Kate he would make with her to show her the way back to her universe, hadn't been done. The entity had promised Kate that she would get her ticket back home, but still in that future Zachariah had brought him to, it was more than obvious that Kate had never gotten that ticket. He didn't know if Kate was the one to refuse that deal or if Chronos didn't keep his promise. All he knew was that he was going to make sure she was safe and sound until they found a way to send her back home. As much as it pained him to think about it, he was determined to do what was right and insuring her protection, safety and way back to her universe was the right thing to do.

"Where's Kaitlin, anyways?" Dean asked as he sat across his brother. "Bathroom again?"

"No. She's just over there," Sam nodded his head towards one of the two pool tables, around which a little crowd had formed unlike earlier when it was just surrounded by only three to five people. Dean squinted his eyes as he tried to get a better look at the pool table, hoping he could catch a glimpse of Kate that would reassure him she was alright. "By the way, she said the next drinks are on her."

"What?" Dean asked, turning his head to look at his little brother who was sipping on his beer with his bright hazel eyes glued to the notebook. "Freakin' nerd," Dean sighed as he stood up and made his way to the table pools. Sam glanced up at him with a slight confused look before he returned his full attention to the notebook.

It was one of Kate's notebooks. After Bobby agreed that it would be pretty good for Kate to hit the road with the Winchesters, he had given her back this notebook, telling her that she should keep on filling it with new information. Sam had been naturally curious about it, but it was only once they had closed up on the case they had stumbled across that he had asked Kate to let him take a look at that notebook. It was just an hour and a half ago, and since then, the younger Winchester hadn't been able to pull his attention away from it. He was truly amazed by the way she had organized the creatures in an alphabetical order, but also in such way that you could find what creature it was according to its method of killing its victims. Everything was concisely explained, from its origin to how to get rid of it. Moreover, the references of the books in which she had found all these information was always written at every ending sections so anyone could check the source for more information. The young man realized that she truly wasn't lying when she said that she was pretty finicky when it came to writing down notes.

A few loud cheers followed by clapping sounds made Sam look up at the pool table around which people had crowded a few minutes after Kate had gone there. Dean was the first one to sneak through the crowd, shaking his head, and Kate appeared behind him just a few seconds later. She was laughing as she bowed at the crowd that turned around, clapping, cheering and whistling at her. Dean turned to her, saying something that made her spin around and roll her eyes as she caught up to him. The pair walked up to their table as Sam never looked away from them, both confusion and amusement about the situation filling the younger hunter.

"Come on, what's wrong with that?" Kate told Dean as they sat at the table; she across Sam and Dean next to his brother.

"We work hard for that money, Kaitlin," Dean replied as he grabbed a beer and one shot from the tray and set them right before him.

"No, you don't! You scam banks with fake credit cards," she whisper-yelled at him, throwing a few quick glances around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her say that.

"Well, yeah, that shit's hell to get to," he responded.

"Um, in all fairness, I'm the one who spends my time on my laptop doing that, so if anyone sorta work for that money, that's surely not you, Dean," Sam chipped in, causing Dean to glare at him.

"Shut up, Sam," he told him before grabbing the tiny shot full of strong whiskey and gulping it down, his gaze going on the crowd nearby the pool table.

"What even happened?" Sam asked Kate who sighed as she grabbed the remaining shot and beer from the tray and settled the two right in front of her.

"I was getting bored with you buried in that book and Dean hitting on his umpteenth conquest of the week, so I went to play some pool. And, one guy came and I just felt like doing a bet with him," she replied as Dean slightly shook his head while Sam kept on looking at her so she could continue. "I bet that if I lost I'd pay two drinks to each people around the pool table and if I won I'd pay just one drink to each of them. Dean got mad because I did the bet with the money he gave me earlier," she finished explaining as she opened her beer and drank a long sip.

"One of the guys said she lost four games!" Dean exclaimed.

"I thought you were good at playing pool?" Sam frowned as he looked over at Kate who snorted.

"No, I've never even played pool in my life before," she put her beer down as her words made Dean snap his head at her.

"You're not serious? You went betting money while you _never_ played before?" Dean asked her as he and his brother stared at the young brunette.

"Well, there was a girl I met in Paris who had never ever played pool. And, one night she and other students went to play pool. It was the very first time she ever played pool and she won half of the games. So, I thought maybe I'd get that beginner's luck, too?" She shrugged.

"Unbelievable," Dean muttered shaking his head at Kate's short explanation.

A waitress stopped at their table, sliding a drink in front of Kate, "From the man over there."

Kate slightly frowned as she looked over to the man who had apparently bought her that drink. "Oh, uh, thanks," she said to the waitress before this latter one walked towards another table.

The young brunette moved her brown eyes to the dark-haired man that she recognized as being one of the persons around the pool earlier. She gave him a little nod and polite smile in thanks for the drink, to which he responded with a wink and a rising of his own drink in his hand.

"It seems like you got an admirer, Katie," Sam commented, a playful smile on his face as Kate shook her head.

"It's not what you think," she replied, her cheeks slightly blushing which didn't get unnoticed by the two brothers.

Dean couldn't help but scan her face as she lowered her gaze to the drink she just got. Although Kate was an easy-going woman, Dean had noticed that Kate could come up as someone pretty reserved sometimes. Sure, depending on the situation and the context, the most extroverted person could turn into the most awkwardly withdrawn person, and Kate was no exception to that rule. However, as reserved as she could be sometimes, Dean had easily noticed that blushing was really rare in the young woman. He assumed that to get her to blush, something big must happen to her and as he quickly glanced down at her drink and then back up at her flawless face, he couldn't help asking himself questions about her and her old life. A long time ago, she had told him things and stories about her, so he knew that she went to bars from times to times, but she never told him anything about guys hitting on her or buying her drinks. He had no idea if it was something that made her uncomfortable or if she simply didn't want to talk about this with him. But as she was blushing now, he couldn't help wondering if it truly was something that didn't put her at ease or if she was interested by that dark-haired guy who bought her that drink.

"You sure? 'Cause, you gotta know, he's got his eyes glued on you right now," Sam told her, glancing over the dark-haired guy standing at the bar counter, with, indeed, his green eyes ogling at the young brunette.

"Hey, didn't you guys say we were here to celebrate your hunt's victory?" She asked, trying to change the topic of conversation that only kept on making her blush.

"Right," Dean spoke, wanting to change the topic just as much. He put down his beer and reached for the notebook that was laying in front of his brother. He flipped it closed with one hand and held it up for Kate to take it back. "Put that away."

"Dude, come on," Sam half-whined as he reached for the notebook but Kate grabbed it before him.

"No, you 'come on', Sam," Kate told the young man sitting across of her. "It's probably the first night I'm out of my motel room since I'm back with you two, and I was having much more fun with this bunch of happy drunk strangers at the pool table than with you."

"You heard the lady, Sammy," Dean exclaimed as he took one of the two shots that were still on the tray and put it right in front of his brother. "If you don't want her to ditch us for these weirdos at the pool table, you better show her that you can be a lot of fun too."

Sam looked up at Kate who stared right back at him with an almost puppy-dog expression. He rolled his eyes, exhaling a long sigh before muttering an 'alright' under his breath.

"What? I didn't hear?" Dean teased his little brother as he put a hand behind his ear, motioning for Sam to speak louder.

"Your ears are still 80-year-old ears?" Sam teased in return, causing Kate to slightly chuckle and Dean to look at him with an annoyed look.

Kate couldn't help but smile as she looked at the two brothers.

As good as it felt to be with Matt Myers or with Bobby Singer, she couldn't deny the fact that she had truly missed these two guys. It felt truly good to be back with them even though this past week hadn't gone the way she had expected it to go. Indeed, Sam and Dean hadn't let Kate get involved in the hunt, except for helping for the researches – or rather do the researches all by herself. Sure, Dean had been the one to really insist on her to stay at the motel, but Sam had played a part too when he told her that this time he wanted her to stay away from the hunt before promising that the next hunt, they would let her take full part in.

As Sam and Dean started to throw light teasing insults to each other, the young woman pushed her thoughts away and she leaned forward on the table, lightly hitting Dean's arm with her notebook. He turned his questioning green eyes to her, "Keep it for me. Your pockets are bigger than mine." Without a word, Dean took the notebook and slid it in one of his jacket' inside pockets as he threw a glance at his little brother.

"If you're nice and chill out tonight, I'll give it back to you," he told Sam who just rolled his eyes in answer.

"Drink this shot down, Sam. I'm gonna bring us some more drinks," Kate declared as she stood up, ready to go to the bar counter, when Dean stopped her.

"What? Already? I just bought all these drinks," Dean said opening his hands as he looked up at the brunette.

"Yeah, but if we really want to celebrate, I want to see Sam drunk," she replied as she absently pulled down her red t-shirt, causing just a glimpse of cleavage to show, which didn't go unnoticed by Dean. "I want to see how funny it is when he's drunk."

"You know that I'm right here, right?" Sam told her and she looked over at him with an amused smile while Dean looked over at the dark-haired guy who had bought the drink for Kate and was still at the bar counter.

"I'll go," Dean abruptly declared, standing up as Kate frowned at him.

"It's alright, I can go," she told him.

"Nah, I'll go," Dean told her and she shrugged before dropping back on her seat. Kate and Sam watched Dean as he took his jacket off and dropped it at the back of his seat before fixing the collar of his black shirt. "Gotta work on my ' _jamais deux sans trois'_ ," he stated, his American accent making the French sentence sound dirtier than what it should have been.

"You know that doesn't work anymore when it's the fifth time, right?" Kate told him, squinting her eyes up at him.

"With other guys maybe, but, _Cherry_ , you're talking to Dean Winchester," he smirked at her before walking off to the bar counter.

"You shouldn't have told him how to say ' _third time's a charm_ ' in French," Sam told her as he remembered the night Dean went to work on his third one-nightstand in a row of the week and Kate mumbled that French sentence before Dean made her repeat so he could learn it and use it in the future – or overuse it.

Kate didn't say a word as she watched the dirty-blond-haired man approaching the bar. The barmaid's lips stretched into a huge grin of excitement as Dean leaned against the counter and started to talk to her. The barmaid laughed rather loudly before she playfully slapped one hand on top of his forearm. Even standing behind the counter, Kate could make out the very slender body of the pretty barmaid who was wearing a V-cut tank top that left rather little for the imagination.

From what she had read in Chuck's books and from what she had heard and witnessed herself, Dean could definitely be called a womanizer. In the books, it seemed as though he was constantly in the search of a new prey which had gotten Kate to chuckle and roll her eyes several times. However, she could tell that it had slightly changed since his return from Hell, which Chuck had confirmed when she last saw him. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for Dean to go back to his old-self when it came to women.

This week Kate had been in the front row to witness that behavior. And though it used amuse Kate quite a bit, it was slowly starting to build another feeling in her. She still found it funny how irrevocably flirty he could be with every women they met while still being respectful to not annoy these women, but since she got back with him and his brother one week ago, it became less and less to watch. Strangely enough, every time she asked herself why she would find it less amusing, her brain would replay her that wet dream she had of Dean a while back. It was the only wet dream she had had about anyone ever since she got in this universe, and she didn't seem to be able to forget about it. However, right now that wasn't what was on her mind. Right now, her focus was on Dean and his one-nightstand-to-be.

"Can I be your guest tonight, too?" Sam's voice stirred Kate's attention away from the elder Winchester flirting with the barmaid.

"What?" She asked as she saw he was looking at the same direction she was staring at just a second ago. However, he didn't have the same pensive expression that she had while watching his brother and the barmaid, Sam had a slightly disgusted and fed-up expression on the face.

"I'll take the couch, this time, but please don't let me endure that torture again," Sam told her and Kate let out a little chuckle as she looked at him.

The second night she had been with them, Dean had stumbled in his and his brother's room with one of the witnesses of their cases. The witness' moans had woke Sam up and he had ran off the room in the dark, to find refuge in Kate's room. The third night, Dean had found another conquest, but luckily enough Sam had heard the noises before entering the room he shared with his brother. About the same thing happened the two following nights which forced Sam to sleep in Kate's motel room almost every night that week. Unfortunately her room was composed of only one queen-size bed and a sofa that was long enough to take his whole height but still leaving his feet hanging at the end. However, Kate being Kate, she didn't want him to squeeze his hefty body in the not too large couch, so she let him sleep on the very comfortable queen-size bed the two nights.

"It's alright, you can have the bed," Kate smiled at him. "I mean, you probably need as much rest as possible after that long hunt."

"So do you," he replied, his hazel eyes looking right into her brown ones. "We wouldn't have made it without your help."

"You're kidding me, right?" She scoffed. "All I did was read books and surf the internet."

"For long hours," he remarked.

"It's nothing you wouldn't have been able to do on your own," she replied with light bitterness in her tone which surprised Sam.

"Katie, is something wrong?"

"Since you're asking… Yes," she responded and his eyebrows slightly raised as he stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I've been with you two for a week now, and aside from tonight, the only time I left my motel room was to go to the local library… It's just that when your brother offered me to come back, I never thought it meant that I would be spending days alone in my room while you guys were out there investigating and hunting down that _thing_ ," she explained before taking a deep breath and biting down on her bottom lip as she exhaled through her nostrils.

"I know, Katie. And, I get it. I really do. But, you gotta understand that this hunt was way too dangerous for us to let you in."

"Come on, you came out of it with not more than two scratches," she waved her hand at him. "If the hunt was that dangerous, you would have been covered with bruises and cuts."

"True. And that would have happened if you didn't help us finding what that thing was and how to kill it," he replied, leaning forward on the table so that he could get her gaze to meet his own. "Without you and the amazing work you did, we wouldn't be celebrating here."

Kate lifted her brown eyes to meet his hazel eyes full of his natural kindness that was emphasized with the gentle smile he gave her. A glimpse of his puppy dog expression was slowly appearing on his face, causing Kate to sigh and roll her eyes, "Alright. I'm gonna let this one pass." Sam's smile stretched bigger as he leaned back in his chair and she took her shot up. "But, next time, I won't let you leave me in the motel like a freakin' child."

"Deal," he nodded at her as he took his shot and clinked it against hers before they both brought their drinks up to their lips. As Sam slammed his empty shot on the table, his gaze moved to Dean, still chatting and certainly flirting with the barmaid. "I wonder what's wrong with him," he almost muttered while Kate finished grimacing at the strong taste burning down her throat.

"What do you mean?"

"Dean. He didn't stop once this week," Sam told the brunette who glanced over at the elder Winchester before returning her attention to the younger one sitting across her. "He's been jumping on everything that moves."

"Well, your brother's always been a Casanova. I mean, you remember that time he hit on that girl right after she was attacked by a couple of wendigos? Where was that already?" She squinted her eyes and chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to remember the location. "It was in Seattle, wasn't it?"

Sam's brow furrowed as he stared at her, "How do you know about that? I'm pretty sure I didn't tell you about this hunt."

Kate stopped chewing on her bottom lip but her teeth remained biting on her lower lip as she realized the slip she had just made. She had talked about something that no one told her about. She had talked about something that she _read_ in Chuck's 'Supernatural' books. She mentally cursed herself for making such a stupid slip. Especially considering that this event she had talked about had just been a brief mention at the beginning of one of the books. She could have compared Dean's behavior to any other event, but for some reason, her brain had chosen to pick this one out of everything Sam and Dean recounted to her.

Freeing her lip, she glanced down at her glass before looking up at him and feigning confusion, "Y-you sure? I'm pretty sure you told me about this."

"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't."

"R-really? Oh right! It was Bobby. H-he told me."

"How did Bobby even know about that?" Sam inquired, genuinely puzzled as he never looked away from the brunette who kept throwing glances down at her glass.

"What are you talking about?" Kate scoffed, still pretending to be confused by Sam's reaction and words. "Bobby knows everything."

"Yeah, I suppose, but not-" Sam started before he was interrupted by Dean who came back with a tray full of a dozen of shots that he put down on the table.

"Who's ready to get drunk tonight?" Dean grinned as he sat down next to his brother.

"Me!" Kate exclaimed, eager to change the topic of conversation.

"Haha, I love the enthusiasm, Cherry," Dean laughed as he took a shot out of the tray and slid it towards her, before doing the same for his brother.

"Well, I especially wanna see how much of a happy-drunk Sam is," Kate lightly chuckled.

"Oh that's a must-see," Dean commented as he reached for one shot for himself. He held it up, "Come on… To this successful hunt that didn't require any waste of good whiskey on cuts."

Sam and Kate snorted at that before they brought their shots up and clinked with Dean's. Then the trio gulped it all down at the same time. Kate slightly grimaced as she put down her empty glass and the brothers slammed theirs down too.

"Who told you I'm a happy-drunk?" Sam furrowed his brow at Kate.

"Mmh?" She looked at him, her eyes slightly widening as she realized that she had done a second slip within a few minutes.

"Everybody knows you're a happy-drunk, Sammy," Dean chipped in, causing Sam to glance at him before returning his confused gaze to Kate.

She quickly shifted her gaze to the elder Winchester, "So, did it work? Did the 'third time's a charm' extended for a fifth time?"

Dean smirked at her, "I told you. I'm Dean Winchester. ' _Jamais deux sans trois_ ' becomes 'jamais deux sans whatever number'."

"That doesn't mean anything," Kate frowned at him. "You can't change an expression that way."

"Who says I can't?" He asked.

Then, Dean started giving her arguments after arguments as to why he could change an expression like this one, earning a good number of eye-rolling and shaking-head from Kate who argued back. All that while Sam watched Kate, a few questions twirling in his head, like how she knew about that hunt or how she knew he was a happy-drunk. But mostly, why didn't she tell him, why did she lie to him?

* * *

 _ **Two hours later.**_

"Oh, but Sammy, h-he is the best guy ever!" Kate slurred at the red-haired woman sitting at their table for half an hour now after Kate had managed to ask her to sit down with Sam and her. It had happened right after Dean went to the bar counter where the barmaid had been waiting for him to come back.

"Katie," Sam said in a warning tone for the tenth time, trying to stop the young woman who was obviously very drunk.

"Really, Angie, you have no idea what great things he does all the time for this freaking little messed-up world! H-he just sacrifices his life aaallll the time to save strangers."

"What?" The ginger woman frowned as she looked over at Sam.

"I-I'm a cop," he tried to save the day with a fake smile.

"Oh I see," she smiled as she let her bright blue eyes travel all over the young man's face down to his broad shoulders and his large strong arms that only his flannel covered since he took his jacket off earlier.

"A cop? He's more than a cop! He's a freaking hero! Then again, I suppose some cops are heroes. But Sam is like... H-he's like a super hero," Kate exclaimed as she reached for another shot of whiskey but Sam slid it away.

"I think you got enough, Katie," Sam told her. "Actually, I think it's better we go back to the motel. You need to rest."

"What? No, no, no. You and Angie go! I'm sure Angie wants to jump your bones!" Kate replied and Sam's cheeks turned even redder than what the little alcohol he had drunk had caused.

"I'm so sorry, she's not in her right mind-" Sam started to apologize to the pretty red-head.

"I don't mind," she cut him off, a smile playing on her full lips as Sam looked at her. "It's not like she's lying."

"See!" Kate exclaimed as Sam didn't say a word, his hazel eyes getting slightly round as he swallowed down. He was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the situation and he almost began to think that he preferred the last time Kate was drunk. She was so moved from seeing this universe's version of the man who introduced her father to smoking that she hadn't made any of the weird and not innocent comments that she was doing now. "Here," the brunette said as she fished her room's key out of her jeans' pocket and slid it to Sam. "Go, have fun! You deserve it!"

"Shall we?" Angie asked, her voice seductive but still a bit shy as she looked at Sam who seemed a bit torn.

"Um, it's not that I don't want to, but I can't leave her alone, when she's like that," Sam responded.

"What bullshit are you saying? Just go, I'll be fine! I'll get Dean to walk me back to the motel," Kate slurred at him.

Sam looked at her, still not very convinced, when Angie spoke, "I know the bar owner. If you want, I can ask him to keep an eye on her and make sure she leaves with your brother and no one else? Your brother's that guy hitting on the barmaid, right?"

Sam looked over at his brother laughing with the barmaid and he almost felt bad for ruining his night by letting him be the one walking their very drunk friend back at the motel. But, when Angie reached her hand to play with Kate's room key in his fingers, and she seductively looked up at him through her eyelashes, he realized that it had been a while since he had been with a woman. Plus, that thirty-minute long conversation they had, with Kate's slurred comments here and there, had gotten him to understand that Angie wasn't just a pretty young woman, she was also a smart and funny person and that was something that always attracted Sam the most.

"Alright," Sam let out in a husky breath as his hazel eyes never looked away from the ginger-woman.

"Alright," she smiled as she stood up. "I'll be right back."

Sam watched her as she talked with a tall brown-haired guy standing at the end of the counter. Angie pointed at Dean and then at Kate as she spoke to the brown-haired guy who Sam guessed was the bar owner. He saw him nodding at Angie before walking behind the counter until he approached the barmaid and Dean. He said a few words to them as Angie came back at Sam's table.

"Ready to go?" She asked Sam who looked up at her before he threw a glance at the bar counter to see Dean turned on his stool and mouthing something that went along the lines of 'you son of a bitch'.

"Ready to go," Sam smiled as he saw Dean standing up from his stool and approaching their table. The younger Winchester glanced at Kate who winked at him and Angie as she looked up from the empty shots she was playing with.

"Have fun!" Kate called after them before she dropped her head over her crossed arms on the table. She didn't even notice when Dean dropped on the seat right next to hers, glaring at his brother as he saw him leaving the bar with the pretty red-head.

The hunter turned his head to look at the brunette who looked as though she was sick. Seeing her like this immediately made the hunter forget about the barmaid as concern for this impossible girl filled him. "Hey, you okay?"

Kate was too drunk to even be startled by his voice, and her answer was muffled by her arms. Dean sighed as he pulled at one of her arms making her rest her head to the side. Her brown eyes squinted up at him and he tilted his head to the side, causing a smile to form on her natural red lips.

"You're cute when you do that," she mumbled and he chuckled as he put his head back to a normal position. "Nooo," she groaned as she raised up from the table and put her hands against his cheeks before slowly moving his head back to the previous tilted position. "Like that, you look like a cute little kitten."

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

Kate opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light that came from the little gap left by nonchalantly pulled-together-curtains. She absently stared at that direction for what seemed a long moment when a shape stepped in making her blink a couple of times before looking up. Her sleepy brown gaze landed on the very familiar freckled face of Dean Winchester smiling as his green eyes watched her face with a glimpse of amusement.

"Finally, sleeping beauty wakes up," he stated, playfully.

She groaned in reply and rolled over, snuggling deeper into the thin sheets and blanket as she buried her face in the pillow.

Dean chuckled as he sat down on the bed, the mattress dipping with his weight. "If you have a hangover, I got a bottle of fresh water in one hand and a bottle of aspirin in the other."

She said something but it came out completely indistinct since her face was still buried in the pillow.

"Mmh, no sorry. I didn't copy that," he shook his head even though she didn't see him.

She pulled her head up for a few seconds as she repeated, "I just wanna sleep."

"Yeah. Well, that makes the two of us. But, we gotta hit the road, so just drink this and get ready before I call Sam," he told her but she didn't budge one single muscle. "C'mon, sleeping beauty." Once again, Kate's reply was indistinct as she spoke against her pillow. "Still can't copy when you're making out with the pillow."

Kate rolled on her side so she could look up at Dean, a frown painted on her face at what he just told her. "I was saying that you have to stop calling me sleeping beauty. As far as I know she was a blonde which I'm not."

Dean looked thoughtful for a short moment before he responded, "As far as I know she may have dyed her hair."

"Why would she do that?" Kate asked, her frown going deeper as she propped up on one elbow.

"Who knows?" Dean shrugged before holding the bottle of water and the bottle of aspirins out for Kate. "Take these."

Kate sat up, wiped her eyes with the back of one hand as she took the water only, "I don't need aspirin." Dean looked at her as she drank a few sips of water before handing the bow-half empty bottle back to him.

The young woman watched him as he put the cap back on the bottle and closed it, before she moved her gaze to the other queen-size bed on which sheets and covers were lacking. She moved her gaze and noticed them tossed in a messy pile at the furthest corner. Suddenly, she remembered that when they got back last night, she didn't make it to the bathroom and ended up throwing up on the other queen-size bed.

"Where did you sleep?" She asked Dean as he was lost in the strands of her short brown hair that went to all the places around her soft face. When she moved her gaze back to him, she caught him staring at her, but didn't really comment on that. "You still can't copy?" She playfully teased him, earning a tiny smile from him as he moved his green eyes down to meet her brown eyes.

"I slept on the floor," he simply replied.

"Why not the couch?" She asked him.

"A bit uncomfortable and too tiny," he responded and Kate glanced over at the couch, only to realize that it was, indeed, much smaller than the one in her room.

"I'm sorry, Dean," she said in a little voice.

"Don't feel sorry for me. Feel sorry for the people who's gonna clean the sheets," he told her as he stood up from the bed.

It was then that Kate noticed that he was already dressed. A khaki shirt over a black t-shirt and a pair of simple old jeans. He was barefoot as he bent down to take his boots and then walked to the tiny couch next to which he had put his duffle bag. His hair was a bit damp making her understand that he had taken a shower before she woke up. She watched him as he sat down and pulled a pair of socks out of his bag, he gave them a quick sniff before making an approval face and then starting to put them on.

"I'm sorry for ruining your night," she blurted out, as he slid his socked-foot in his boot before glancing up at her. "You were probably going on for a record and I just ruined it all."

"Nah," he just said before returning his attention to finishing putting his boots on. "Besides, it was a pretty fun night. Aside from the soap opera we ended up watching and the smell of puke until I opened a couple of windows," he continued as he quickly laced his two boots.

"Mmh, why do I have memories that you liked that soap opera as much as the ones you watched these past few days?" Kate asked, scratching the top of her head.

"The plot was great, but watching this just made me understand how bitchy all the Ruby chicks can be," Dean told her as she started stretching her arms up in the air. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander on her form for a few seconds until she got out of the bed.

"Dean," Kate began as she looked down at herself to see that she was still wearing the same clothes than last night except from her jacket, shoes and socks. "Did you take off my jacket and my shoes?"

"Your socks too," he replied and she looked at him as he pointed to where her shoes and socks were at the end of the bed. "After you threw up, we watched about two hours of TV before you dazed off. I thought you'd be more comfortable without that on."

"I would have been more comfortable without anything on," she replied as she stretched her arms again. Dean's eyebrows raised in surprise at what she said and hers widened as she realized what she had just said. "I-I didn't mean to say that," she stammered and the green-eyed man just stared at her, a smirk threatening to form on his lips, which she noticed immediately. "I'm gonna take a shower," she rushed to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"I suppose I gotta tell Sam to bring your bag with your clothes," he said, staring at the bathroom's door with amusement.

No doubt, it felt good to have her by his sides.

* * *

 _ **Two days later.**_

 _ **Wellington, Ohio.**_

 _ **At The Day-Z motel.  
**_

"What?!" Kate exclaimed, making sure to have a facial expression that showed how much outraged she felt by what she was being told – _again_. "You can't do that, Dean!"

"Yes, I can. Now, shut it, Cherry. I'm busy," he told her as he moved his head so he could get a better sight of the TV he had his eyes glued on for the last fifteen minutes or so. He hadn't moved his attention from it, even when Sam threw his tie at him before going in the bathroom to put his clothes on, nor when Kate had started whining like a child when he told her she'd stay in the motel while they'll go investigate on their new case.

The brunette in her white shirt and black suit-pants, threw a glance at the TV and rolled her eyes at the stupid medical soap opera he was watching. She had never been a fan of these kind of shows aside from the rather old medical television show ER. Back in her universe almost every television show could pull at her attention, but aside from ER, every medical soap opera seemed to lack just the pinch of fantasy and action that could get her completely hooked to a show. And she believed that Dean would need more than just a pinch of fantasy and action to get him hooked on a television show. But, no. Apparently, Dean Winchester was engrossed in the whole dramatic soap opera kind of show. He didn't seem to be the kind of guy to like this, but in the same time he totally did. After all these past days watching some of these shows with him or catching him watching them, Kate understood that it was his guilty pleasure.

Sighing, the brunette went over to the bathroom door, she repeatedly knocked on it until Sam's voice told her that the door was open.

She pushed the door open to find him tying his tie in front of the mirror just above the very little sink. "Sam, talk to your brother."

"What's going on?" He frowned, looking at her reflection on the mirror.

"He wants me to sit out this case. _Again_ ," she said, emphasizing the last word as she gave a pointed look at the young man.

"Well, we're going to check the case at the police station, and, um, I don't think it needs more than two feds," he replied, hoping that she would understand.

"What, three people is too much, now?"

"Well, Scully never needed more than Mulder to work a case," he shrugged.

"Exactly," Dean's voice came from where he was still sitting. Kate turned around to look at him as he continued without taking his eyes off the television, "Name a trio and I may reconsider my decision."

"What? You're kidding right?" She glanced at Sam as he obnoxiously kept his whole focus on checking out his tie. It was obvious for Kate that he was trying to not get Kate's anger on behalf of his brother's decision to not let her come along. "Alright, well, the three stooges," she spun around to look at Dean as he shook his head with his eyes, of course still glued to the television.

"I'm pretty sure they never had to fight-" Sam began.

"The three Musketeers!" She cut him off, knowing that this trio carried out fights.

"Against creatures," Sam finished with raised eyebrows, before passing her by as he walked out of the bathroom. He glanced at his brother sitting on the edge of one of the two beds, with his eyes ogling at the TV. "What are you watching?"

"Hospital show. ' _Dr. Sexy, MD'_. I think it's based on a book," Dean replied, nearly absently as he was now completely focused on the making-out scene that was grossly displaying on the TV.

"When did you hit menopause?" Sam teased him.

"It's called channel surfing," Dean frowned as he glanced up at him before looking over at the brunette standing at the bathroom's doorway and still suited-up. "You didn't change? I told you, you're not coming with us."

"You said you would change your mind if I named a trio."

"A trio that can do our job," he corrected.

"Alright, so what about the Aragorn-Legolas-Grimli trio, huh? You can't say ' _no_ ' to that trio," she told him as Sam grabbed his suit jacket off the bed and put it on while keeping quiet.

"Sorry," Dean shook his head as he got up, turning off the television.

"But, that's not fair!" Kate exclaimed as Dean headed for the door.

"Life's unfair, Cherry."

"Well, why am I here then?" She threw her arms in the air as Dean turned around to look at her. He glanced at his little brother who was standing nearby the frontdoor. "I mean, am I here just to be confined indoors and bury myself in research while you guys go out do the real thing?"

"Now, you make it sound as though we're assholes and you're freaking Rapunzel," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"Katie, researching _is_ the real thing," Sam gently told her. "With no research, we can't stop what's outside."

"I know, but at least when I was with Matt, he let me come with him to help him get rid of the ghosts or whatever monster it was!"

Dean huffed at that, "Now, I know I have to kick his ass when he's back from Canada."

"Oh come on, he only did that because he knew I could handle it. I mean, I've been training-"

"Even if you would have been training for a year, I wouldn't change my mind," he cut her off, his green eyes looking right into hers, with sternness.

"Katie, there's a big difference between training and being on the real field," Sam explained as he stood next to the still closed door. "I know you've been on the field several times with Matt and even with the two of us. And, believe me when I say that we know that you are capable of handling it. And I'm not even talking about the job you're doing with the research, you're freaking amazing at gathering information. But, I agree with Dean. If you stay here, you won't risk getting an arm broken or bruises and cuts all over your face. It's safer, and that's what we want you to be. Safe."

"You're both acting just like Matt and Bobby," she sighed, folding her arms over her chest before bringing one finger up as she shook her head, "No, actually you're even worse. I mean, you're not even letting me come with you for the safest part of hunting, which is playing pretend! _Merde alors_!"

"W-what did she say?" Dean whispered, leaning a bit towards his brother as they both watched the young woman as she raked her upper teeth all over her lower lip in frustration, rubbing her eyelids as she took deep breaths to calm herself down.

"No idea," Sam whispered back before Kate spoke.

"Look. I understand that you think it's safer for me to stay here. And, it's really sweet of you two. But, really, I-I… I can't stay here while you're both out there."

Sam and Dean watched her for a moment before the younger man turned his head to look at his brother, "Maybe, we could-"

"No," Dean cut him off. "Sam and I are going, and you're staying. End of conversation," he turned around, opened the door and walked out, leaving Sam and Kate to look at each other.

He gave her a kind smile, "I'll try to talk to him."

"Yeah, and see if someone can have that same talk with you," she whispered to him, her tone slightly bitter.

"Katie-"

"No," she shook her head. "Just… Just go."

He studied her whole face, taking in the strong and stern expression that she was trying to keep on. He could easily see that it was a mask and he was afraid that what was behind was much more than just her wanting to get out of the motel's room and pretend to be a federal agent.

"We're not done with that conversation," he told her, pointing a finger at her before reluctantly leaving her alone as he walked out of the room.

The instant the door closed, the whole room filled with silence.

It wasn't one of those peaceful silences, it was one those oppressive silences. This silence was the reason why she didn't want to sit out that hunt, again. Whenever Sam and Dean left her, they left her with that heavy silence as only company. It wasn't truly the silence itself that bothered Kate, but it was what it brought to her. Indeed, when she was surrounded by only silence, flashes of memories of what happened to her these past months, hit her violently. Because, even though Zachariah's tortures were all erased from her memory, she still remembered that her time with him hadn't been pleasant at all. Moreover, her brain was very skilled at playing all the worst things that she had seen or lived during these months.

A sudden flash of the blood-covered streets of River Pass, appeared before her eyes.

A few unmoving and bloody corpses nearby their cars in the same town followed that apparition.

She shut her eyes closed tightly and shook her head for a few seconds before opening them and looking down at her hands. She could see that they were shaking so she immediately went to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water several times.

She then looked up at her reflection, her fingers tightly gripping at the edge of the sink as she tried to calm down her sudden panting. She pinched her eyes tightly shut as she tried again to breathe calmly. She could feel her heart racing as sweat drops started to stream down the back of her neck.

"It's alright," she whispered to herself, keeping her eyes shut. "It's gonna pass… It's gonna be alright."

* * *

It wasn't long before Sam caught up with Dean in the motel's parking lot. The elder hunter had just stopped next to the driver's door of his Baby when he spotted his little brother approaching the car with a reflective expression on his facial features.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked once his brother stood at the door of the passenger's seat.

Sam looked up at him, and he tilted his head, "Katie…"

"I'm pretty sure the only reason she's on the edge is because it's that time of the month." Sam furrowed his brow as he stared at his brother who sighed before deciding to give him a serious answer. "She'll be fine, Sammy."

"How can you know that?" Sam asked, his shoulders moving a little bit up. "We've been leaving her at the motel everyday ever since she came back."

"Yeah, and that's why she'll be fine," Dean declared.

"No, Dean. She's right, we're being unfair with her. And I don't think leaving her out of the hunt is going to be any good to her."

"So what? You wanna bring her along to the morgue so she can see the mutilated corpses, or maybe you want her to dig up some more graves and fight with creatures that _we_ can't even fight without earning us some cuts and dislocated shoulders," Dean sarcastically replied.

"Of course not, Dean. But, she's been in our world for over eight months, now! She's already seen _and_ lived a lot," Sam explained before he brought his hands up and put them on top of the Impala while he looked right into his brother's eyes. "Look, I get it. You want her to be safe, and so do I. But, there's nothing dangerous in letting her put on a suit and pretend to be a federal agent. Besides, it's not like she'd be on her own. If anything happens, we'd be with her."

Dean observed his brother's face for a moment as he took in all the words that had just been said to him. He couldn't deny the truth of Sam's words, but still he wasn't sure that it was safe for Kate to do anything but research. Now that he knew there was a possible future ahead of them in which Lucifer possessed his little brother, Castiel wasn't an angel anymore, Bobby and Kate got killed, Dean knew that he had to avoid stepping in the path leading to that future. He had started by getting his little brother back to his sides and he had continued by bringing Kate back by his sides as well. In the future, he had learned that the young woman had been hunting with Matt Myers before this latter died and Kate joined Bobby, Castiel, Chuck and him in Camp Chitaqua. From what he understood, Future-Kate had become a pretty good hunter when she was by Matt's sides, so all he wanted to do was prevent that from happening. If Sam and Kate were by his sides, he had chances to prevent this future to ever happen – he had chances to save them.

"Besides, you don't have to be that hard on her," Sam remarked, causing Dean to snap out of his thoughts.

"I'm hard on her?"

"Well, I'm not saying I haven't played a part in forbidding her from coming with us. But at least, I'm not acting like a jerk whenever she asks to come along," Sam replied, causing Dean to sigh as he looked towards the little building in which they left Kate. "All I'm saying is that if we want her to be safe and happy enough to stay by our sides, we shouldn't be too hard on her. Otherwise, she'll just go back to Matt."

Dean shifted his attention back to Sam, their gazes immediately met before he decided to just get inside his car and head to the police station where he and Sam had to start their investigation. Sam took a few more seconds before getting in the car as well. Once sitting in his seat, he glanced at his quiet big brother who started the car and smoothly drove out of the motel's parking, a thoughtful expression on his face that made Sam realize that his words may have finally gotten Dean to think again about the situation with Kate.

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

 _ **At The Day-Z motel.**_

Finally calmed down, the brunette walked out of the bathroom, unbuttoning her white shirt and taking it off before tossing it on top of her left shoulder. Wearing her suit pant and a black tank top, Kate took off her heels and grabbed them in one hand before she headed for the door, ready to go back to her room that was just the one next-door. It was around ten in the morning and even though she had a rather good night of sleep, she wanted to go back to sleep. She didn't want to face the hard reality that she was, once again, all alone. It was too painful and it only showered her with all these dark, terrible memories that she didn't want to overthink. As she reached the door, she stopped and turned around as an idea popped in her head. Maybe she could drink herself to sleep instead of crying herself to sleep.

She walked to Dean's duffel bag that was laying at the end of his bed, she crouched down and zipped it open. She was certain that she would find a bottle or two of strong alcohol. She knew that it was pathetic of her to drown her troubles in alcohol, but she was feeling miserable and desperate. It had never been in her habit to use alcohol for such purpose. The first time she found a sort of solace in alcohol was when her father passed away. For weeks, she drank and drank, trying to fill the hole this loss had left in her, and hoping that all this quantity of gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila, or beer would also erase that sorrow and pain that clung onto her. It was until her ex-boyfriend, Peter, came into the picture and said the right words to make her feel as though without him she would be a worse mess.

"I really need that bottle," Kate muttered to herself as she shook these memories away and searched with one hand in Dean's duffle bag. She frowned when her hand took out a leather journal that looked a lot like the ones Bobby owned. Curious, she put her heels down and with her two hands she opened the journal.

The second she did, she was met by a sweet surprise. A couple of photographs were tucked into the inside cover of the journal. There was an old photograph of a soldier, but what caught her attention the most was the second photograph. It was a cute family portrait taken in front of what looked like a lovely house. There was a beautiful blond-haired woman holding a baby, a dark-haired man and a little blond-haired boy. Kate turned the picture over and read what was written.

 _ **John, Mary, Dean and baby Sammy Winchester. 1983.**_

She turned the photograph over again and looked at all the four smiling people. Their smiles and sparkling eyes showed how much happy they all were, and it caused Kate's lips to curve into a tiny smile. Her eyes travelled from the very pretty woman to the kids. She knew that their mother had passed away when Sam and Dean were very young, but seeing what Sam and Dean looked like when they lost their mother hurt a lot. They both looked so innocent.

They _were_ so innocent.

Sam was only a baby and Dean a four-year-old little boy when this tragedy happened and even having read the 'Supernatural' books didn't help prepare Kate to the sadness that this photograph brought inside of her.

She tucked the photograph back into the inside of the cover and glanced down at the one of the soldier, before she turned a few pages and started reading a few lines.

 _ **There was nothing to bury, and I don't think I could have listened to what anyone there would have said. I've been drinking too much, trailing off in the middle of sentences. I hear things at night while I sit in Sam and Dean's room. Everything lately feels like those instances when you remember a dream a few days after you had it, but then you can't remember if it was a dream or if it actually happened. I keep going over that night in my head… Why did I ever get out of bed? I left my wife by herself to go watch TV, and she died. I'm so sorry, Mary.**_

Kate had never met John Winchester, but from what she had read in Chuck's books, she knew he was a very complicated man and she didn't like the way he raised both of his sons. Needless to say, she was in two minds about the man. But as she read his journal for the first time, she immediately realized that besides the fact that losing his wife had broken him, he felt entirely responsible for that. He blamed himself for what happened to her, just like his sons blamed themselves for whatever happened to other people.

The more she read and the sadder she felt…

 _ **Dean still hardly talks. I try to make small talk, or ask him if he wants to throw the baseball around. Anything to make him feel like a normal kid again. Every morning when I wake up, Dean is inside the crib, arms wrapped around baby Sam. Like he's trying to protect him from whatever is out there in the night.**_

Kate stopped reading as she took a shaky breath in, and feeling the tears already forming in her eyes, she looked away from the heartbreaking lines Sam and Dean's father had written down. Her eyes landed on Dean's leather jacket that was hanging nearby the door. It was his father's leather jacket, and once in a while he liked to wear it instead of any other jacket. Even when it was freaking hot out there, if Dean wanted to wear, he would; no matter how much he would sweat with it on.

Biting on her bottom lip, Kate returned her attention to the journal in her hands. She turned a few pages, glancing at the drawings of creatures on pieces of paper that came along on and off, and then she stopped and restarted reading.

 _ **December 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1983**_

 _ **Sammy has finally started sleeping through the night, and now that Dean shares a bed with him, he's out like a light too. But me… I close my eyes and she's there. It always starts the same, I'm seeing her as she was before that night, beautiful and happy, and alive. And I'm not seeing it, I'm living it, it's like I'm there… It's so real, I know I can reach out and touch her. And so do I… I reach out… and suddenly I'm back to that night, to the blood and the fire and Mary; Mary is on the ceiling, and how did she get on the ceiling… She can't be on the ceiling…**_

 _ **Here's the weird part. When I wake up, sweating and panting… I swear there is something there. I can feel it, hovering over me, over my boys. It's watching, it's waiting. I think it's even mocking me… You couldn't stop this. You couldn't keep her safe. You can't keep them safe.**_

From that moment, Kate couldn't stop reading if she wanted to. As sad, harrowing and heartbreaking as it was to read what John Winchester had written down after his wife died, the young woman couldn't stop. She turned the pages back to the beginning of the journal and knelt down in front of the duffle bag as she read from the start.

 _ **November 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1983.**_

 _ **I went to Missouri and learned the truth. And from her, I met Fletcher Gable, who gave me this book and said: "Write everything down." That's what Fletcher told me, like this new life is a school and I'll flunk out if I don't have good notes. Only if I flunk out of this school, I'll be dead. And the boys will be orphans. So I'm going to go back to where this started…**_

* * *

 _ **Three hours later.**_

 _ **At the Day-Z motel's parking lot.**_

After the weird discovery they did at the police station, Sam and Dean went to buy some take-outs before going back to the motel where they were sure Kate was waiting for them.

"You're sure you wanna go now?" Dean asked Sam as he parked the Impala in the parking lot.

"Yeah, I'll come right back," Sam replied, leaning to the backseat so he could grab the two bags of food. He took them and gave them to Dean. "Go, she must be starving waiting for us."

"You know what?" Dean told him, sounding like he had a sudden idea. "Maybe I should go check the crime scene for any clues that our angry superhero may have left, while you go have lunch with her."

"I thought you were itching to take your suit off and have lunch?"

"It's alright. I can totally come back later," Dean shrugged before adding in an almost mumble, "Preferably after you talked to her and made sure she's not mad anymore."

"What?" Sam asked, frowning at his brother.

"What?" Dean repeated, his eyebrows shooting up on his forehead.

"Are you scared that she could be mad at you?"

"What? No," Dean huffed, looking away. "I just…"

"Dude, really? Earlier, you were acting like you didn't care whatever it did to her when you prevented her from coming along, and now you're acting like you're scared she might be mad at you?" Sam told Dean, his tone showing how much he didn't understand his brother's lately actions and reactions. "Look, you want the truth? Chances are that she's mad at both of us. Definitely madder at you, but still, it's Katie we're talking about. No matter how mad she can be at you or at me, or at anyone else, she's not a resentful person."

Dean looked at his brother, pondering on what he was supposed to do for a couple of seconds before he sighed, "Alright." He opened the door and got out of the car with the two bags of take-out food in his arms. He leaned down to look at his brother who was trying to slide to the driver seat. "If you meet the Hulk, I trust you to not let him near my Baby. Okay?"

Sam looked at him with his brow slightly furrowed as he responded, "Okay."

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

After Dean changed into a casual pair of jeans, a brown t-shirt with a semi-denim shirt on top of it, he made his way to Kate's room. When he had walked into the room he shared with his brother, he was expecting to see her in there, surfing on the internet or watching TV until their return that would initiate the real beginning of the researches. But, the room was empty and he immediately understood that she had gone back to her own room. He pushed his sleeves up before knocking on the door. He waited for a few seconds before knocking again.

"Kaitlin, come on, don't be a pouty baby," Dean began when he heard the door unlocking from the inside. He straightened as the door swung open and he was met by the brunette, still wearing her suit pant, but her white shirt was gone, leaving her in only a black tank top. "I didn't mean it when I called you a pouty baby," he immediately told her, not sure what to except from her. Especially since he believed that it was her time of the month seeing her earlier reaction.

Kate simply stared at him, her soft brown eyes had a touch of sadness that made Dean frown. "You okay?" He asked her and she nodded, a weak smile forming on her lips. "You sure?"

"Yeah," she replied, her voice sounding weaker than what she wanted it to sound like.

Dean scanned her face before asking, "Can I come in?"

The brunette stepped back, letting the hunter walk in and close the door behind him. Dean looked around, taking in the half unmade king size bed that was the only thing that truly differed from his and Sam's room. The rest of her room was composed of the same long couch, table with two chairs, little television nearby the bathroom and the same blue, green and yellow floral decoration on the walls.

"You were sleeping?" He asked her as he turned to look at her.

"No, um, I actually got back from your room about twenty minutes ago and I tried to lay down and get some shut eye. But, I couldn't," she replied, her voice sounded so vulnerable and the way she was fidgeting with her fingers got Dean to understand that she really wasn't okay, and he knew it was his fault.

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry, okay? I have no right to forbid you from coming along and I certainly have no right _and_ no reason to be a jerk to you," he apologized. "But the thing is that I believe that leaving you in the motel will keep you safe. I don't wanna risk bringing you along and having some ghoul, ghost or demon harming you."

Kate opened her mouth to say something, but Dean interrupted her as he held his hand up, "Let me finish, okay?" He took two steps closer to her, shortening the distance between at just one foot. "I know that you're capable of fighting. I remember that you told me your mother forced you into taking Karate lessons when you were a kid and I know that you've been training in this universe. I know all of that, but I can't be sure that it will be enough for you to defend yourself if something attacks you. If I want to protect you, I have to stack all the odds in my favor."

"Why do you think that it's your responsibility to protect me?" She whispered and he slightly frowned.

"I guess it's because of the same reason that made you stab yourself when you were possessed back at Bobby's," he replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Kate watched him, the memories of their father's journal never stopping running in the back of her head. She felt a bit bad for reading his father's journal without his or his brother's consent, but above all else she felt bad for acting like such a brat lately. When Dean had offered her to come with them, she hadn't really thought about the reasons that could have pushed Dean into changing his mind. But after reading that journal, she spent long minutes thinking and she realized a lot of things; things that made her understand that Dean couldn't help it but be overprotective over the people he cared about. Even if he had never told her this, she knew now that he cared about her. Maybe, he didn't care about her as much as she cared about him, but it was still enough for him to act that way with her.

But the thing was that Kate didn't want him to have more weight on his shoulders than he already had. She was aware that she couldn't take that weight away from him, but she was also aware that she could bring some help… Some _peace_. And if there was any way she could make this possible, it wasn't just by being that so-called peace-bringer he claimed that she was for him. If there was any way she could make it possible, it was by being what she always wanted to be.

"I wanna be useful," she blurted out and he gave her a questioning look. "I want to help you and not just by doing researches… I just… I wanna help."

As Dean watched her, a memory popped into his mind.

 _"I've always wanted to do something that can help people, you know? Something that made me feel useful. Like doctor, nurse, soldier or even social assistant. Anything that could help people to have a better life or to…"_ She had confessed this to him when they were at Bobby's after Sam ran away.

 _"Or to just live_ ," he had finished for her. _"That's why you're still here. Aside from the fact that you're stuck in this universe, nothing has gotten you stuck with any of us. You could've run away from all of us. You could've gone to the cops, but you didn't. You stayed. You stayed because you wanna help saving people._ _ **You wanna help**_ _."_

The way she had looked at him when he had told her this, said it all. He knew back then that Kate was one of these rare persons who genuinely wanted the world to be better place, even if it meant sacrificing oneself, and even if it technically wasn't her world.

Dean's teeth dragged his lower lip inside his mouth as he stared at the brunette standing in front of him. "Alright," he nearly murmured as he finally conceded into letting her help.

Waiting for a reaction from her, his eyes roamed all over her, from her short curly hair down to the rest of her body. He did his best not to stare too long at the way her tank top hung perfectly around her pretty curves, and when his green eyes landed on her cute bare feet, he couldn't help but chuckle. Whenever she could, she just took her shoes off, no matter if she was in a motel, at Bobby's or inside his car.

Kate didn't question him about the chuckle that left his lips nor did she comment on him finally accepting to letting her help. She was too focused on his mother's silver ring around his finger.

The photograph of the happy family flashed before her eyes as the lines she had read started to swirl inside her head.

 _ **Dean turned five today… He's got a real talent with guns… This would have been our sixth anniversary… Sammy took his first steps yesterday. He walked towards Dean… Mary has been dead for a year now, I'm never gonna get over it, and I wouldn't wanna be… Dean's sixth birthday. It's been more than a year since he saw me kill a shape-shifter. He doesn't ask about it anymore… Today was Dean's first day of school… He came home on top of the world, and he brought me worksheets with the names of different parts of a fish, different numbers of apples and oranges added together… Sammy wants to be in school too… Mary has been dead for two years… Took Dean shooting…**_

Kate was pulled out of her thoughts by Dean's hands gripping at her bare arms and slightly shaking her. She looked at him and saw pure confusion painted all over his face as his green eyes scanned her face, "Hey, hey… Why are you crying?"

"What?" She asked him in a little voice before she brought one hand up and touched her cheek, realizing that she was, indeed, crying.

"I…" She began, not even knowing what to say.

"Kaitlin, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…" She trailed off and bit with force on her quivering bottom lip. She looked down and Dean took one hand off her arm and reached to cup her chin.

As he lifted her head, he gently slid his hand on her cheek, wiping her tears away with his calloused thumb before doing the same to the other cheek. "Hey, I'm sorry for being a jerk and for being so hard on you. I-I know I shouldn't. You don't deserve any of that-"

"Dean, it's alright," Kate cut him off.

"Then why are you crying?" He asked her, his voice gentle as he unconsciously rubbed his thumb up and down on the warm skin of her arm while his other hand lowered down to one side of her neck with the thumb stretching up to gently caress her jaw. "Is there something else?"

She looked into his apple green eyes and all she could see was that little boy from the photograph, and although it saddened her to look at him now that she learned even more from his childhood, a little smile appeared on her lips. The little boy from the picture had grown into an amazing man and all she could think of was how proud his mother would be of him, if she could see him.

"No. There's nothing," she whispered to him.

"That's that… That time of the month, right?" He hesitantly asked and she questioned him with her eyes. "You know…"

Kate let out a soft chuckle, taking a step back, which caused Dean to drop his hands away from her. "Yeah," she decided to reply, her eyes looking right into his. "That's that time of the month."

"You're lucky we ain't hunting vampires then," he told her, trying to make her smile and he succeeded. "Actually, I don't think you'll guess what we're hunting."

"What?"

"You had superheroes TV shows back in your universe? Like the Incredible Hulk?" He asked and she gave him a confused look.

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

Kate and Dean were sitting across each other at the table in the room Sam and Dean shared. They were both doing researches on the internet and since Kate didn't own a laptop in this universe, Dean gave her Sam's so she could do her part of the research while he did his on his own laptop. At first, he couldn't stop throwing glances up at her, but after she caught him a couple of times, he stopped and finally managed to keep his eyes glued to his laptop's screen. Nevertheless, it didn't stop him from feeling very concerned about Kate. Although she had told him that the reason for her crying earlier was due to her having her period, he was pretty sure that it was something else. Hell, he was sure she didn't have her period and she had just lied to spare him the conversation that would undoubtedly make him feel even more protective of her. Dean kept in mind that he would find out what is fretting her to the point of crying and if she didn't tell him, he'd use strong-arm tactics; meaning he would get Sam to give his puppy dog eyes to her until she would admit it all. If that still didn't work, he'd probably give a ring to Chuck and ask him about it. He knew that he shouldn't use Chuck's prophet powers but if he had no other choice then he would do it. All he hoped for was that it had nothing to do with Zachariah and his tortures, again. It was all supposed to be over now. She wasn't supposed to remember anything from his time in Hell. He was supposed to be the only one to remember and to suffer in silence…

When the door opened, Dean's thoughts went to the back of his head, piling next to all the thousand other things that never stopped running in his mind.

"Hey!" Sam exclaimed as he closed the door behind him.

"Find anything?" Dean asked, looking up at him as Kate moved her gaze up to look at the younger man who was still wearing his suit.

"Well, uh, I saw the house," Sam replied as he looked at the young woman and squinted his eyes a little bit at the almost sad expression that she wore. "You're alright?" He asked and she nodded, a little gentle smile on her lips. Sam looked over at Dean whose eyes told him that he didn't think she was truly alright.

"And, what did you find there?" Dean inquired, making his brother understand that they shouldn't talk about what was bothering Kate now.

"Um, well, I suppose Dean told you what the victim's wife told us," Sam told Kate who cleared her throat and nodded.

"Yeah."

"Well, like I said I saw the house and… There is a giant eight-foot-wide hole where the front door used to be," Sam said moving his hazel gaze back and forth between Dean and Kate. "Almost like, uh-"

"A Hulk-sized hole," Dean finished for him.

"Maybe," Sam tilted his head and Kate's eyes grew wide.

"Wait…" She breathed out. "So, The Incredible Hulk really is in town?"

"Again, maybe," Sam replied before noticing what was displaying on the screen of his laptop that she was using. "What do you got?" He asked her, nodding at his laptop.

"Well, um," She cleared her throat again before continuing. "Thanks to all your illegal softwares, I found out that Bill Randolph has got two counts of spousal battery, bar brawls, and court-ordered anger management sessions. He had quite the temper," Kate replied with a slight wincing expression as she looked up at Sam.

"You might say you wouldn't like him when he's angry," Dean commented.

"So a hothead getting killed by TV's greatest hothead. Kinda sounds like just desserts, doesn't it?" Sam replied.

Dean snorted at that before his attention was caught by Kate standing up and walking over the mini-fridge to get Sam's salad box and a water bottle and brought them to the table. She settled it down, earning a 'thanks' from Sam before she went back to the mini-fridge. She took out the fresh bottle of soda that she didn't finish earlier when having lunch.

"It's all starting to make sense," Sam declared causing Dean to return his attention to him and Kate to turn around as she stood nearby the mini-fridge, opening her soda.

"How?" She asked.

"Well, I found something else at the crime scene," Sam responded as he pulled a handful of candy wrappers out of his pocket. "Candy wrappers," he dropped them on the table as Dean took one of the wrappers in his hands, a pensive look appearing on his face.

"So, what? Bruce Banner is crazy about candy when he gets all mad and green?" Kate asked before bringing the soda up to her lips.

"I found lots of them," Sam added as he pulled his tie undone and tossed it on one of the beds before starting to take his suit-jacket off.

"Just desserts, sweet tooth, screwing with people before you kill 'em—we're dealing with the Trickster, aren't we?" Dean exclaimed as he stood up from his seat and spun around to look at his brother while Kate almost choked on her drink.

The two brothers looked over at her as she snapped the bottle away from her lips, wiped the drops of soda on her chin with the back of her hand and she let out in surprise, "The Trickster? Really?" Both Sam and Dean stayed utterly silent as they stared at the young brunette who was confused by that. "W-what?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other and with that quick glance, they knew that they were both wondering the same thing.

"Who told you about the Trickster?" Dean asked, slightly frowning at her.

"Um," Kate began, glancing over at Sam as she felt her heartbeats increasing as she realized the huge slip she just did. The curses she mentally did to herself were starting to mix with the many lies she tried to weave in her head that she could give to them.

"It's not just that," Sam started, holding one hand up and taking one step towards her. "A few days ago, when we were at that bar to celebrate our previous hunt. You mentioned that Wendigo hunt I never told you about and you also already knew I'm a happy-drunk while you never saw me drunk before."

Remaining quiet, Kate unconsciously pressed her lips together in a very thin line as she tried to think of a way to tell them what she knew she had no other choice but to tell them now.

"Kaitlin, if you have something to say. It's right now," Dean told her, causing her to look at him. He gave her a very serious expression and she wondered if it meant that she had to tell them she read their father's journal earlier, too. She opened her mouth and exhaled the long breath that she had been holding for a few seconds now.

"I may have read a little of Chuck's ' _Supernatural_ ' books," she admitted, her voice little and hesitant.

"You _what_?!" Dean shouted, outraged and a bit mad as he stared at her with big eyes and frowned eyebrows.

"What do you mean by 'a little'?" Sam asked, surprised by what she had just told them, but not outraged as his brother and definitely not mad.

"I mean just a few chapters," she replied, licking her lips nervously as Dean and Sam stared at her. "Well, okay, a few books... All of them actually. From the first word to the last word," she eventually admitted, dropping her shoulders. "I'm so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to, but… But, they're kinda addictive."

Dean gave her an annoyed look and Sam simply sighed as he shook his head lightly, "Well. I guess it's only fair. We read the pages Chuck had on you, so I suppose you had every right to do the same afterwards."

"Yeah, right…" Dean mumbled, looking away.

"Well, to be honest with you guys, I read these books before you took a look in what Chuck wrote about me," she told them and Dean snapped his eyes back at her.

"W-why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked, his brow furrowed.

"Why do you think?" She said, giving a little nod towards Dean who was now glaring at her.

"I can't believe you read those books when I specifically told you not to!" The elder Winchester exclaimed, throwing one hand towards her.

"Well, how's that different from what you did?" Kate told him.

"It's different," he replied, his tone a bit sternly before he sighed and returned his attention to his brother standing next to him. "Since we don't have to give her any explanation as to who the Trickster is. What do you say we find that bastard, huh? I've wanted to gank that mother since Mystery Spot."

"You sure?" Sam asked, looking at his brother while Kate just looked at them, trying to make herself inconspicuous now.

"Yeah I'm sure."

"No, I mean are you sure you wanna kill him?" Sam asked him.

"Son of a bitch didn't think twice about icing me a thousand times," Dean replied, gesturing to himself.

"No, I know, I mean, I'm just saying-" Sam began, putting one hand on one hip as he tried to find the right words to explain his idea to his brother.

"What are you saying? If you don't want to kill him, then what?"

"Talk to him?" Sam suggested.

"What?"

"Think about it, Dean. Maybe we can use him," Sam told him.

"For what?" Dean asked, still confused and uncertain of what Sam had in mind.

Sam licked his lips before elaborated for his brother, "Okay, Trickster's like a Hugh Hefner type, right? Wine, women, song—maybe he doesn't want the party to end. Maybe he hates this angels and demons stuff as much as we do. Maybe he'll help us."

"You're serious?" Dean asked him, his arms were now crossed over his chest as he stared at him.

"Yeah."

"Ally with the Trickster?"

"Yeah."

"Your idea's even worse than finding out Kate's read our lives," Dean commented, throwing a glance at the quiet brunette. "That son of a bitch is a bloody, violent monster, and you wanna be Facebook friends with him? Nice, Sammy."

"Sam's not wrong," Kate chipped in causing both of the brothers to look at her. "I don't wanna go down that road, but from what I read in the 'Supernatural' books, the Trickster is definitely one of the most powerful creatures you guys ever met, and probably one of the most powerful creatures, period. I mean, he's basically a demigod."

"Let me guess, you got this from Chuck's books?" Dean gave her a sarcastic smile and she just sighed, looking away.

"Dean, stop it with the books. She's read about us, we've read about her. We're even," Sam told his brother causing him to slightly pout. "Look, the world is gonna end, Dean. We don't have the luxury of a moral stand. It's worth a shot. That's all Kate and I are saying. If it doesn't work, we'll kill him."

Dean sighed looking down and then glancing at Kate who quickly broke their eye contact. He looked up at Sam, "How are we gonna find the guy, anyway?"

"Well, he never takes just one victim, right? He'll show," Sam replied as he approached his bed and took his duffle bag that was, just like his brother's, at the end of his bed.

"What're you doing?" Dean asked him.

"I'm gonna get changed," Sam simply responded as he went to the bathroom. However, before he closed the door behind him, he turned around and looked over at Kate. "When you said you read every word from the first to the last, does that mean you read… Well, you know?"

"No!" Kate exclaimed. "I skipped the parts where you guys were, well, not dressed." Dean's face showed surprise while Sam's showed relief.

"Good to know," Sam stated more for himself than anyone else, and then he closed the bathroom's door to finally change into casual clothes.

* * *

 _ **An hour and a half later.**_

It was now past four in the afternoon as Kate and Sam were sitting at the table, playing cards for nearly half an hour now. They played simple games like 'Go fish' or a quiet version of 'Snap'. They were all getting tired of waiting for the Trickster to show, especially since for them to find him, they had to listen to the police scanner that Sam had settled on the table after getting changed. He had explained to Kate how the device worked and then he had started to ask her information about the Trickster; believing that maybe Chuck wrote something in his books that he and Dean didn't know about. Unfortunately, it seemed that it wasn't the case. Meanwhile, Dean had gone out and returned later with a couple of thick wooden logs to sharpen them into wooden stakes.

Sitting at the edge of his bed, just a few short steps away from the table, the elder hunter continued sharping the stakes while Kate and Sam continued playing almost lazily.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the police scanner, causing both Sam and Kate to stop playing and to look at the device. "Um, Dispatch? I, I got a possible 187 out here at the old paper mill on Route 6?"

"Hey," Sam called to Dean who stopped working and focused on the police scanner.

"Roger that," the dispatch replied. "What are you looking at there, son?"

"Honestly, Walt, I, I wouldn't even know how to describe what I'm seeing. Just… Send everybody," the officer responded.

"All right, stay calm, stay by your car. Help's on the way."

Sam turned off the scanner and turned his head to look at Kate before looking over at his brother.

"That sounds weird," Dean commented.

"Weird enough to be our guy," Sam agreed.

"So what do we do?" Kate asked looking back and forth at Sam and Dean; the latter one checked out the wooden stake in his hand before shifting his green gaze up to Kate.

* * *

 _ **A moment later.**_

 _ **A few miles away.**_

Sam's eyes were glued to his brother's profile for quite a long time now and Dean could feel it but he tried to ignore it and just kept on driving to the location they got out of the police scanner. Sam was staring at him from the moment they got into the car, leaving Kate behind after Dean tried to make her understand why he didn't want her to come along this time. The conversation between Dean and Kate had gotten quite a bit loud and it hadn't taken long before it turned into what could be called a semi-argument. From the words exchanged between the two, Sam had learned that before he came back from the crime scene, Dean had finally agreed on Kate doing more than researches with them. Preventing her from coming along to meeting the Trickster after making her believe that she would finally be able to take full part on their hunts, was like screwing with her mind, which both Sam and Dean knew she didn't deserve. Not after everything they went through with her. However, Dean was thoroughly convinced that bringing Kate with them to meet this powerful creature was too dangerous, and he didn't care if that meant that his brother would stare at him all along their way down to that location.

A few minutes later, Dean pulled off just in front of what looked like an abandoned warehouse in an abandoned area. He frowned as he looked out the window and when he turned his head to look at Sam, he was taken aback to find him still staring at him.

"I know I'm pretty, but seriously Sam, we're brothers. That's creepy," Dean told him before getting out of the Impala.

Sam quickly did the same and the two of them took a look around. The place was completely desert, which was really off considering what they had heard in the police scanner.

"There was a murder here, and there's no police cars. There's nobody. How's that look to you?" Dean told Sam as they both walked up to the trunk of the Impala. Dean unlocked it and opened it before he noticed that his brother remained quiet. He looked up at him, only to find him already staring at him. "You know what? You're slowly becoming like Cas with all that staring."

"Why did you have to forbid her to come with us again?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean's words.

"What? You're kidding me?" Dean said in response. "We can't let the Trickster meet her. If he sees her soul, we don't know what he might do to her."

"She's got a tattoo that prevents her soul to be seen."

"Yeah, that's a trick. And, he's the trickster," Dean reasoned as Sam watched him. "We can't take that risk."

"Why didn't you tell her that back in the motel, then? Why did you have to shout at her that it was for her safety without explaining it to her?" Sam inquired as Dean looked down at the opened-trunk.

He took one of the two stakes he had sharpened and soaked in blood earlier and a flashlight, and handed them to Sam who didn't budge as he stared at him, still waiting for an answer.

Dean sighed as he lowered his hand and looked up at his little brother, "Think about it, Sam. She's been in our universe for months and during all that time, she's faced things she never imagined could be real. She helped us gank a few creatures here and there, but as far as we know she never killed any creature. Bobby told me that she shot a vampire in the head once, but that's the furthest she went into killing... Hell, she didn't even kill that vampire. And yes, she sent a few demons back to Hell by exorcizing them and got rid of a few ghosts. But, she never actually killed any creature… She never actually _killed_ … Do you wanna risk getting her hands dirty by bringing her along?"

Sam was taken aback. He didn't think that this could be the reason why Dean still didn't want to bring Kate along. It went beyond protecting her from getting harmed on the field by a creature. It was protecting her from getting these nightmares they were both so used of; the nightmares of oneself killing. It was protecting her from feeling not clean; a feeling that he was sadly too accustomed to. All in all, it was simply protecting her from becoming like them.

The younger Winchester looked down at the stake and the flashlight and took them, without saying a word. Dean knew that it meant that Sam now understood the intentions behind Dean's actions towards Kate. Equipping himself with the same things, Dean silently closed the trunk and walked alongside his brother to the building.

Dean swung the door opened and they both rushed in, only to find themselves in a bright hospital hallway.

They immediately frowned as they were hit with confusion and as they looked down at themselves they realized that were wearing white lab coats over a dark navy blue medical suit instead of their normal and casual clothes.

"What the hell?" Dean asked, looking around in confusion before he looked up at his brother who made a grimace of puzzlement.

"Doctors," a blonde nurse greeted with a nod of the head as she passed them by, closely followed by an Asian woman who greeted them the same way; these greetings only confusing the two brothers even more, if that even were possible.

* * *

 _ **Five hours later.**_

 _ **At the Day-Z motel.**_

The television was on in one of Dean's silly soap opera, but Kate wasn't watching it. She had switched on the television to avoid having to endure a heavy silence to settle in the room with her – again. As the sound of the show echoed in the room, the young woman was getting seriously impatient. Pacing back and forth in Sam and Dean's room for a while now, she was beginning to think that the brothers wouldn't call her like Sam had promised he would. She wondered how long it would take for them to find the Trickster and convince him into joining them in the stopping of the Apocalypse. She was pretty sure that it couldn't take very long, but as minutes turned into hours and day turned into night, doubts started to fill her.

With doubts came worry and soon enough she started to feel bad for not admitting to them that she had read their father's journal. She could have told them when she admitted having read all of Chuck's books, but something had told her not to. She felt as though reading their father's journal without their consent would bring her much more troubles than reading these 'Supernatural' books. Indeed, the journal had felt much more personal, and besides, it contained details that even Chuck's books lacked. Like Sammy making his first steps towards his big brother or Dean learning to shoot at such a young age.

Kate abruptly stopped in the middle of the room and shook her head, she had to keep her focus on Sam not keeping his promise of calling her and Dean not keeping his promise of letting her tag along.

"You're mad at them," she told herself. "You've been with them for almost two weeks and all they've done is leaving you by yourself in the motel…"

An umpteenth making-out scene appeared on the screen, causing a lot of slurping sound and moans to echo in the room which made Kate frown at the screen and shake her head.

Throwing a glance at the clock hung very high on the wall, she read that it was nearly midnight, which only caused her worry to intensify. "Alright, I'm gonna call them myself," she decided as she went to grab her cellphone lying next to the pile of playing cards on the table.

She scrolled down her short contact list and rang Sam's number before putting the device against her ear. She was surprised when it went straight to his voicemail, so she decided to call the other phone number he had given her, but the result was the same. Almost reluctantly she called Dean, only to have the same thing happen and so did it happen with his other phone numbers.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she forgot all about being mad at them for stupid reasons as she grew extremely worried as to what was happening to them. Not answering their phones was something, but having all of their phones shut off at the same time was something else. What if the Trickster had done something to them?

Without wasting a second, Kate called Castiel's number. After two rings, the deep voice of the angel responded.

"Kate?"

"I'm at the Day-Z motel. Room 18. Wellington, Ohio," she immediately told him.

"Um, Kate, I can't come right now, I'm-"

"Sam and Dean are missing," she cut him off.

Not a second later, the sound of flapping wings echoed over the sound of the advertisement break on the television. Still holding her cellphone against her ear, the brunette spun around and looked at the trench-coated angel standing there with his cellphone against his ear as well.

His blue eyes fixing at her, he lowered his hand holding his phone down and asked, "Tell me everything."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Let's be honest here… This chapter was supposed to be way longer, but I decided to cut it off here so I can give you the second part in a few days (not very long, I promise). I hope you guys don't mind and still enjoyed this chapter that was long overdue!**

 **Let's keep on being honest here… I'm not really proud of this chapter because I feel like it's a really messy one. Nonetheless, all these scenes have a purpose, so I really couldn't take them off or put them in other chapters; Anyways, I truly hope that you still enjoyed!**

 **On a side note, I wanted to tell you about a beautiful one-shot that my beta-reader and friend wrote some time ago. It's a Supernatural one-shot that I found amazingly well-written, and you can find it on the site! In less than 500 words, she succeeded on making the emotions of the episode 'Swan Song' (5x22) reappears in me… And I'm sure it will do the same for you if you give it a try. So, go and check out the story 'Forty-One-Steps' written by 'I-got-zapped' ;)**

 **I wanna thank all the people who reviewed on the last chapter and guessed that Kate was going with Sam and Dean (no shocker here haha)! I was so freaking happy to see that many reviews full of so much love and support! Thank you very, very much for making me smile for days and I will do my best not to let any of you down!**

 **Take really good care of you,**

 **A.**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter contains elements from the episode ' _Changing Channels_ ' (5x08).**

 **It also was beta-read by the fantastic 'I-got-zapped' so all kuddos go to her for her quick, but certainly not botched editing!** **  
**

* * *

 _ **At TV Land.**_

Sam let out a long sigh as he walked over to the brunette woman wearing only a bikini and started to escort her to the door, "I am really, really, very sorry, but, uh, we've got some work to do."

"But we _did_ work!" The woman replied, looking over at Dean as she and Sam passed him by. "In depth."

A laugh track echoed again as Dean waved at the woman as she left. Sam shut the door and shook his head at his brother who put on a forced smile.

"How long do we have to keep doing this?" Dean asked, almost quietly as he kept his forced smile plastered on his face.

The two brothers were tired of the Trickster's game and Sam even began to think that maybe asking this creature to help them stopping the Apocalypse, wasn't a really good idea. It seemed as though all this creature wanted to do was enjoy watching them suffer in the weirdest way. From the hospital soap opera to the Japanese game show and passing by other stupid advertisements and television shows to end up now on the set of a sitcom, Sam and Dean were only becoming more and more annoyed. Their watches were frozen to the exact hour and minute they had stepped into that warehouse, but Sam and Dean felt a little tiredness that made them believe more time had passed by. Not to mention that when Castiel had appeared back in the Japanese game show, he had told them that it had been days since Kate and he were looking for them. They had no idea how long exactly they had been stuck in TV land, and the worst was that they didn't know how long they were going to stay stuck.

"I don't know," Sam replied, causing applause to resound. "Maybe forever?" A laugh track echoed again. "We might die in here."

There was another laugh track, which made Dean to turn to the audience, "How was that _funny_? Vultures."

That caused another laugh track to ring out, when the door swung open catching Sam and Dean's attention. They were surprised to see Castiel, again - and apparently so was the audience as a round of applause echoed. However this time, the angel had some blood on the face. It was nothing too big, but the minor injuries still caused the two brothers to worry a little bit.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"I don't have much time," Castiel just said in reply.

"What happened?" Sam asked him, his hazel eyes scanning the angel's face.

"I got out."

"From where?" Dean inquired, confused.

"Listen to me. Something is not right. This thing is much more powerful than it should be," the blue-eyed angel explained.

"What thing—the Trickster?" Dean frowned.

"If it is a trickster," Castiel responded.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked when suddenly Castiel was flung backwards into the wall, hitting it violently before dropping onto the floor.

Right then, the Trickster ran in, shouting a bright 'hello' and getting rounds of applause and cheers from the audience.

"Thank you! Thank you, ladies," the Trickster exclaimed, slamming the door behind him while Castiel got up, his mouth now duct-taped shut. Castiel glared at the Trickster who smiled at him, "Hi, Castiel!"

Castiel threw a glance at Sam and immediately met his confused and worried eyes before the Trickster made a movement with his hand, causing Castiel to vanish in a burst of static once again.

"You know him?" Sam asked the Trickster.

"Where did you just send him?" Dean glared at the Trickster.

"Relax, he'll live," The Trickster replied, waving them off. "… Maybe," he added, causing another laugh track to blast out.

"All right, you know what?" Dean advanced towards the short brown-haired man. "I am done with the monkey dance, okay? We get it."

"Yeah? Get what, hotshot?" The Trickster mocked him.

"Playing our roles, right? That's your game?"

"That's _half_ the game," The Trickster corrected him.

"What's the other half?" Sam demanded from where he stood, a few feet behind Dean.

"Play your roles out there," the creature responded as he looked over Dean's shoulder to the younger man.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked him.

"Oh, you know. Sam starring as Lucifer. Dean starring as Michael. Your celebrity death match. Play your roles," The Trickster explained animatedly.

"You want us to say 'yes' to those sons of bitches?" Sam furrowed his brow, not understanding why this creature would want ever want that.

"Hells yeah. Let's light this candle!"

"We do that, the world will _end_!"

"Yeah? And whose fault is that? Who popped Lucifer out of the box? Hm? Look, it's started. You started it. It can't be stopped. So let's get it over with!" The Trickster told them as Sam and Dean just glared at him. "Unless, you want your pretty little brunette to take this responsibility?"

"Who told you about Kaitlin?"

"Her name is Kaitlin, mmh, that's a nice name," The Trickster commented while Dean glared at him and fisted his hands.

"Who told you about her?" The elder hunter repeated, his voice much deeper and sterner.

"Come on, a rare pearl like that travels around the country and I don't notice it? Who do you think I am?" The Trickster replied before glancing over at Sam whose jaw was as clenched as his brother's. "Look, just like you two, I don't want her to become Heaven's weapon."

"So you're on Hell's side?" Dean eyed him.

"I'm not on either side. I don't want neither Heaven nor Hell to use your friend's soul in any way. Trust me, the last thing I want is for her to become this weapon," the Trickster replied. "But you two, you have to assume your roles."

Dean scoffed at that and then he asked, "I'm no sucker. You're grabbing ankle for Michael or Lucifer. Which one is it?"

"You listen to me, you arrogant dick," The Trickster took a step closer to Dean as he stared right into the hunter's eyes. "I don't work for either of those S.O.B.s. Believe me."

"Oh, you're somebody's bitch."

The Trickster's face hardened as he grabbed Dean by his shirt's collar and slammed hard him into the wall Castiel had hit earlier.

"Don't you ever, ever presume to know what I am," The Trickster told him in a way that made Sam and Dean understand that the creature wasn't playing anymore.

Still holding Dean's collar with one hand, the Trickster took a step back and spoke, "Now listen very closely. Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna suck it up, accept your responsibilities, and play the roles that destiny has chosen for you."

"And if we don't?" Sam asked, causing the Trickster to look at him with a grin.

"Then you'll stay here in TV Land. Forever. Three hundred channels and, uh, nothing's on," he replied and then he snapped his fingers.

* * *

 _ **Two days later.**_

An old woman pulled her truck up to the junction of the country road, her slightly wrinkled face turned towards the young brunette sitting at the passenger seat with her eyes looking out the window.

"Here it is. Route six," she stated raucously. "You see that warehouse over there? That's the old paper mill you're looking for."

"Thanks," Kate turned her face to smile at her before she grabbed her back bag and opened the door.

As she hopped out of the truck and closed the door, the old woman called her, "Hey!" Kate looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You be careful, okay? It's not safe for a young woman like you to wander in the middle of nowhere."

"Don't worry. Like I told you, I'm meeting friends here."

The old woman looked over Kate's shoulder and she squinted a little bit as she spotted the black Impala parked in front of the building.

"Well, you tell your friends, that meeting at a dinner's doesn't hurt," the old woman huffed and Kate snorted at that.

"Again, thank you," she told her before turning around and clenching her jaw as she looked at the warehouse for a few seconds before walking towards it while the truck drove away.

The closer she got to the warehouse, the more visible the Impala came to view, and of course that brought relief to Kate. Nonetheless, that relief wasn't the prevailing feeling inside of her as she kept on advancing up to that warehouse. Determination was the strongest at the moment. Knowing what was going to happen, fear could have been filling her. But, it wasn't the case. She had prepared herself for what was going to happen, she had elaborated a plan that washed away all kind of fear and replaced it all by the resolution of saving Sam and Dean.

She swung on her front the tiny back bag she had bought earlier that day while doing the little shopping for what she would need to make her plan work. She zipped it open and looked down at the weapon she had brought with her. She took it out and closed her bag before readjusting it on her back, and then she slipped her hand in one of her blue hoodie's pockets. As her fingers felt the object she was looking for, her other hand tightened her grip around the gun – the only kind of gun that she was sure she could shoot with and not miss her target.

* * *

 _ **Moments later.**_

 _ **At TV Land.**_

"Tell me one thing. Why didn't the stake kill you?" Dean asked the Trickster now that he had brought his brother back to being a normal human-being standing on his two feet and was no longer some copy of the Knight Rider car.

"I am the Trickster."

"Or maybe you're not," Dean told him, a slight smirk on his face as he watched him.

After realizing that they were still stuck at TV land, Sam and Dean had started to understand that something was off. Moreover, the way he had reacted when talking about Lucifer and Michael, had set them thinking that they may have never been dealing with a trickster.

Sam held up a flaming cigarette lighter and tossed it down as the Trickster frowned. In a matter of a second, a ring of fire sprang up around him, trapping him inside. He turned around to look at it and then looked up at the two brothers.

"Maybe you've always been an angel," Dean stated, causing the Trickster to laugh as an incredulous expression featured all his face.

He looked at Sam and then back at Dean, "A what? Somebody slip a mickey in your power shake, kid?"

"I'll tell you what. You just jump out of the holy fire and we'll call it our mistake," Dean told him as the Trickster kept on laughing.

The Trickster abruptly stopped laughing as a hard expression settled on his features. Then a burst of static appeared all around them and they found themselves in a whole different scenery. As Sam and Dean quickly glanced around, it was obvious for them that they were inside the abandoned warehouse; they were finally out of TV land.

When the Trickster started to clap in his hands, the two brothers looked over at him, "Well played, boys. Well played. Where'd you get the holy oil?"

"Well, you might say we pulled it out of Sam's ass," Dean replied, causing his brother to give him a scornful look.

"Mmh," the Trickster hummed looking down at the flames. "But, you forgot something boys. You were in my playground, and whether you pulled holy oil from Sam's ass or from your own ass," he looked up at Dean. "It still was in my playground. My playground, my toys." Sam and Dean glanced at each other as the Trickster raised one leg up and walked out of the circle of fire. The two brothers took a couple of steps back. "And this holy oil, it was nothing more than olive oil."

"Yeah? What about this one?" Kate's voice appeared.

Sam, Dean and the Trickster all snapped their heads to the side where the young woman was standing with a plastic gun water pointed at the Trickster direction while her other hand was holding up a lighter. They all stared at her with round eyes as she finished tracing a line with the holy oil that was in the gun water and then tossed the lighter. Another, wider ring of flames started to form around the brown-haired man that they all suspected to be an angel and not a trickster.

The Trickster turned around, his eyes watching as the circle of fire formed while Sam and Dean quickly jumped back, avoiding getting trapped in.

"Wow. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting this," the Trickster turned his head to look at the brunette. "Name's Kaitlin, right?" She didn't say anything as she glanced over at the two brothers who were still staring at her with shock. The Trickster moved his gaze to the Winchesters and he smirked, "Looks like I'm not the only one surprised here that you caught me."

"What can I say? I'm really good at research," she shrugged before she looked over at the Winchesters who both smirked at her words.

"What about you boys? How did you find out? Where'd I screw up?"

"You didn't," Sam replied, shifting his gaze back to him as Kate walked towards the two brothers. "Nobody gets the jump on Cas like you did."

"Mostly it was the way you talked about Armageddon," Dean added.

"Meaning?" The Trickster lightly shook his head.

"Well, call it personal experience, but nobody gets that angry unless they're talking about their own family," Dean explained.

"So which one are you? Grumpy, Sneezy, or Douchey?" Sam asked.

"Gabriel, okay? They call me Gabriel," he responded, calmly.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked as he and Dean looked at with surprised expressions. "The archangel?"

"Guilty," he smirked before looking at the woman standing a couple of feet away at Dean's side. "But, it seems like little Kaitlin here already knew that. Huh?"

"Well, like I said I'm good at research," she replied and he studied her face.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But there's still something that I can't help wondering," she replied and he questioned her with his eyes. "Like, how does an archangel become a trickster?"

"My own private witness protection," he smiled before looking over at Sam and Dean who were now staring at him, attentively. "I skipped out of heaven, had a face transplant, carved out my own little corner of the world. Till you all screwed it all up."

"What did Daddy say when you ran off and joined the pagans?" Dean asked, his tone sarcastic although he was really curious to know.

"Daddy doesn't say anything about anything," Gabriel replied as Kate eyed him up and down as though trying to read between the lines of what he was telling them.

"Then what happened? Why'd you ditch?" Sam asked.

"Do you blame him? I mean, his brothers are heavyweight douchenozzles," Dean remarked causing Gabriel to turn his head at him and glare at him.

"Shut your cakehole. You don't know anything about my family. I love my father, my brothers. _Love_ them. But watching them turn on each other? _Tear_ at each other's throats? I couldn't bear it! Okay? So I left. And now it's happening all over again."

"Then help us stop it," Sam told him, his tone almost pleading as Kate glanced up at him.

"It can't be stopped," Gabriel stated.

"You wanna see the end of the world?" Dean frowned as the archangel moved his attention back to him.

"I want it to be over! I have to sit back and watch my own brothers kill each other thanks to you two! Heaven, hell, I don't care who wins, I just want it to be over," he explained as Kate watched him. She could see how exhausting, overwhelming and painful the whole situation was for him and she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

"It doesn't have to be like that. There has to be some way to, to pull the plug," Sam told him.

"Yes, there is," Gabriel replied before moving his gaze and fixing at Kate to illustrate his point.

"Never," Dean immediately stated as the archangel's eyes went over him.

"Come on, I've already told you. The last thing I want is for her to be the one stopping it all," he spoke, his voice grave and serious "But, you do not know my family. They know how lucky it is to have little Kaitlin here. Her soul is so powerful that it makes her perfect to become that weapon." He looked at the young woman who was watching him carefully as he talked. "Of course, they'll have to remold you to make sure that you handle it for as long as they'll need to use you. And that, darling, is a horribly painful process. But then you'll be totally ready to triumph over anything, Lucifer included. The thing is that chances are that you won't make it."

"Is that why you don't want me to stop it? Because I might die?" She asked as Sam and Dean both glanced down at her before looking at each other and then returning their gazes to the archangel as he spoke.

"You're kidding right? It's the least of my problems," he lightly huffed. "Don't take it the wrong way, though. You seem like a very, _very_ nice girl, and after monitoring you on and off these past two months, I really think it'd be a shame to have someone like you die." Sam and Dean frowned at him, but they remained quiet as they let him continue. "But, frankly all my family cares about is that you can carry the Light and becoming it."

"The Light?" Sam and Dean both asked in sync.

"That's a fancy way that some of us found to name this weapon. I think it was Balthazar who came up with this name," Gabriel shrugged, but when he saw the looks the trio was giving him, he let out a heavy sigh and elaborated. "Once upon a time, a long time ago, God created the whole world, full of a good number of different universes, more or less linked to each other. He put in charge three entities called the Guardians to watch over these universes and make sure that whenever another universe creates itself throughout God's sheer will, it respects the laws already established. _But_ , the most important task the Guardians had was to make sure nothing goes in between the universes."

"Why?" Kate asked.

"Because there's darkness there… _The_ Darkness," he replied and she frowned, in confusion. "You might think there's some kind of space between the universes, but no. The universes are surrounded by the Darkness, and my brothers and my Father we fought a terrible war to get rid of it… Let's just say that the number of archangels was five times bigger before that war."

"What about the Light?" Sam asked, confused as to what exactly all of this had to do with that powerful weapon.

"God didn't create the Guardians because he couldn't watch over his Creations. He created them because he had to put all his focus in another project," he explained before returning his gaze to Kate. "Create a weapon to destroy the Darkness if its prison ever gets opened. Unfortunately, darling, you've got one of these souls that can contain the Light and destroy about anything. I'll let you guess how thrilled my family must be to have you here."

"But, isn't it, uh, dangerous to use a weapon like that to fight Lucifer while it was apparently designed for something much bigger?" She asked the archangel, causing a corner smile to form on his lips.

"Exactly," he looked over at Sam and Dean. "Which is why you must never say 'yes' to them. You're not even supposed to take part in what these two asshats started." He looked over at Sam and then at Dean. "There's no other way to stop what you two started. What you guys call the apocalypse, I used to call Sunday dinner. That's why there's no stopping this and there's absolutely no using of your lady friend here. Because this isn't about a war. It's about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other. You'd think you'd be able to relate."

"What are you talking about?" Sam frowned at him.

"You sorry sons of bitches. Why do you think you two are the vessels?"

They all remained quiet, not being able to think of a reason since they were all still trying to grasp at the whole explanative story the archangel had given them about the kind of weapon Heaven wanted to turn Kate into.

"Think about it," Gabriel continued. "Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father, and Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy's plan. You were born to this, boys. It's your destiny! It was always you! As it is in heaven, so it must be on earth. One brother has to kill the other."

"What the hell are you saying?" Dean demanded.

"Why do you think I've always taken such an interest in you two, boys? Because from the moment Dad flipped on the lights around here, we knew this universe was gonna end with you two. Always."

There was a long pause during which none of them knew what to say. It was too many bad news at the same time and this last one seemed to crush them all even more. The way the archangel emphasized the fact that it was Sam and Dean's destiny made it all harder.

Kate looked down as she remembered these dreams in which Zachariah had brought her to that place she used to visit quite a lot in Paris. The Place St Michel where there was a statue of Michael triumphing over Lucifer. She bit on her bottom lip as she slowly closed her eyes, feeling a weight of defeat dropping on her shoulders.

"No," Dean declared, causing Kate to free her lip and to open her eyes as she looked up at him. "That's not gonna happen," he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. But it is." Gabriel sighed shortly after, "Guys. I wish this were a TV show. Easy answers, endings wrapped up in a bow...but this is real, and it's gonna end bloody for all of us. That's just how it's gotta be." As neither Sam, Dean nor Kate say a word, the archangel spoke again, "So. Now what? We stare at each other for the rest of eternity?"

"Well, first of all, you're gonna bring Cas back from wherever you stashed him," Dean ordered him.

"Oh am I?"

"Yeah. Or we're going to dunk you in some holy oil and deep-fry ourselves an archangel," Dean threatened.

"With which holy oil?" Gabriel scoffed and Dean glanced down at the plastic water gun filled with holy oil in Kate's hand before taking it from her and pointing it at Gabriel.

"I can splash you with that and set you on fire if you'd rather?" Dean told him and Gabriel stared at him for a moment before snapping his fingers making Castiel appear.

The trio turned around to look at the trench-coated angel as he breathed heavily, and Kate immediately rushed to him as she saw the few little injuries on his face.

"Cas, you're okay?" She asked, putting her hands on his arms as she noticed how he seemed to struggle to stay up.

"I'm fine," he replied, his blue-eyes staring at the archangel trapped in the ring of fire. "Hello, Gabriel."

"Hey, bro. How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess. Awful."

Castiel glared at the archangel before Dean decided they had enough, "Okay, we're out of here. Come on, Sam." He turned around to walk away, and as he passed by Castiel and Kate, he gave a light tap on Kate's arm to make her understand it was time to go. The brunette glanced at him before looking over at the archangel and almost reluctantly following the elder Winchester.

"Uh. Okay. Guys?" Gabriel called after them as they all made their way to the big door leading to outside. "So, so what? Huh? You're just gonna, you're gonna leave me here forever?"

Dean stopped at the door, causing everyone else to do the same. He turned around and looked at Gabriel, "No. We're not, 'cause we don't screw with people the way you do. And for the record? This isn't about some prize fight between your brothers or some destiny that can't be stopped. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family!"

Dean turned around, smashed the security glass of the fire alarm, ready to pull it down when Kate stopped him, "Wait!" He looked at her, frowning as she took one step towards where Gabriel was still trapped. "How could you track me these past months?"

Gabriel stared at her for a moment before replying, "I can't see your soul if that's what you're afraid of. But, I'm an archangel. Archangels can sense it when an aura is too different from all the others in this world."

Dean glanced at Kate, before deciding that this answer was enough. He pulled the fire alarm down causing the sprinklers to go off. "Don't say I never did anything for you," Dean told him as water started to shower on the archangel and the fire trapping him. They all walked out, Castiel the last one as he looked back at the archangel for a moment before following.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

 _ **At the Day-Z motel.**_

On their way back to the motel, Kate had explained to them how she had found out that the Trickster was actually an angel. Her logic had led her to think that it couldn't be the Trickster since it would make absolutely no sense that she would have met him a few times over these past months. Moreover, it didn't make any sense that the powerful locating spells didn't work if they were dealing with a simple trickster. Then as she had done researches over researches to find what else it could have been, Chuck had called her to say that he had finally gotten a vision of the two brothers. He had been the one to tell her that it was the archangel Gabriel. After she finished telling them all of this, Castiel who had been sitting with her on the backseat, had given her a lesson as to why she shouldn't use the prophet's power for personal purposes. However, when Sam explained to the angel that if she hadn't done so, they still would be stuck at TV land, the conversation quickly stirred to another topic. Sam saying 'TV land' had piqued at Kate's interest and the younger Winchester found himself recounting everything to the brunette until they finally reached the motel.

After walking out of the Impala, they had split, the two men going to their room with the angel while Kate went to her bedroom to make sure she hadn't left anything there back when she had moved her stuff to settle herself in the brothers' room. It didn't take more than two minutes for the young woman to check her whole room, when there was a knock on the door.

She turned around and looked at the door before it slowly opened and Dean popped his head through the gap, "Hey."

"Hey," she simply said back.

"Can we talk?"

"Why?" She asked, a glimpse of bitterness in her tone as she was still a bit mad at him for the way they had left things before he and Sam went to find the Trickster, leaving her alone for days. After the road trip back to the motel, Dean hadn't said a word to Kate, forcing her to remember how mad she was at him for his broken promises of letting her join the hunts.

"Because if you listen to me, I promise to forget you've ever read what Chuck wrote about Sam and me," Dean told her, as he pushed the door a little bit more so that she could see him fully as he stood at the door way while he lifted his eyebrows as if to say that it was a good deal to make.

"You've read the manuscripts Chuck wrote about me, too. Like Sam said, we're even."

"Technically, we're not. Chuck wrote much more about us than he did about you," he replied and she only stared at his face. Soon enough, all she could see was that young boy in that family picture and that only made her feel bad for acting so bitchy towards him.

"I guess..." She trailed off, her voice a soft whisper which Dean took as his cue to step in the room.

He closed the door behind him and she looked at him as he walked to the table, he dragged one chair out and gestured to it. Kate stared at the chair, licking her lips and then raking her teeth on her lower lip before going over to the table and sitting down, her hands dropping at the edge of the table. He pulled the other chair out, sitting across her before he linked his fingers together on the table and he stared at the young woman who was looking everywhere but at him. She knew he was going to apologize to him for making her think she could take full part on the hunt and then not keeping that promise, and she didn't want that. She had never been comfortable with people apologizing to her, somehow it made her feel a bit guilty and she always ended up trying to comfort that person even if they had done the worst of things to her previously.

Dean took a deep breath and spoke, "I'm not gonna apologize." That surprised the brunette who shifted her brown eyes to look at him with a bit of puzzlement. "I know that's what you expected me to do after the way I talked to you before Sam and I went to that warehouse. But, it's not an apology that you deserve. It's an explanation."

He paused, looking over at her hands for a moment before unlinking his fingers and sliding his hands under hers. She had no idea what he was doing, but still she let him do as he brought their hands to the middle of the tiny table. There was a gentleness in his touch that she only experienced when they were just the two of them, because unlike his brother, Dean had quite a hard time to show that gentle, sensitive side of his if there was more than one person in the same room than him. These moments were the ones that soothed Kate into feeling the safest, but these moments were also the ones that hurt Kate into feeling the saddest for Dean. Because ultimately, these moments only proved to her how much insecure and in need of affection he truly was on the inside.

"Tell me," Dean began, bringing Kate out of her thoughts. She lifted her gaze up to his freckled face and then his bright green eyes that were staring at her hands he was holding. "Over eight months that you're here, so far you killed anything?" He asked and she parted her lips to answer when he interrupted her, looking up at her. "I'm not talking about exorcizing a demon, or burning a ghost's bones. I'm talking about taking the life of a living thing." Kate thought about it for a second before lightly shaking her head at him, causing him to drop his green eyes back to her hands, "You understand what that means, Kaitlin? These are clean… Your hands are clean… And I don't want them to get dirty."

"Dean-"

"No, listen," he cut her off, looking up to meet her brown gaze. "You think hunting is easy because you've been to a few hunts, because you've helped finding how to get rid of something. But, it's not easy, Kaitlin. Becoming a hunter is taking on a burden that will never, ever leave you. Honestly, it will only grow heavier the longer you continue to immerse yourself in this life. Even if it's killing evil creatures, you will be haunted by that, your _whole_ life. Your dreams will be filled with all this killing and all these…" He trailed off before looking down at her soft hands, his fingers curled around them and he gently squeezed. "You don't want this life. In no time, Chronos will get back to you and then you'll be home… Trust me when I say you don't want these nightmares to follow you there." The young woman quietly stared at him as he looked up at her and continued, "I don't wanna risk your safety and getting your hands dirty by letting you become a hunter-"

"It's not about becoming a hunter," she softly cut him off.

"It's about being helpful, I know," he replied, nodding. "But, exorcizing a demon or getting' rid of a ghost, it's not the same than killing any other creature. Trust me, I know what I'm talkin' about. If you do this, if you take _full_ part in this, there's _no_ turning back, Kaitlin. I know you wanna be helpful, but-"

"I don't wanna be alone," she blurted out and he frowned, his green eyes studying her face. "Every time you go and leave me by myself, I… I feel so lonely and I…" She didn't want to tell him how being left alone meant that she had to face a compilation of all the things she had seen, done and lived in this universe. She didn't want him to blame himself for all of that, because she knew he would. "I know it sounds childish and silly, and maybe a little bit cheesy too, but when I'm with you I feel safe… And, the truth is that I'm just not strong enough to be on my own… I'm not strong, Dean."

Dean stayed quiet for a few seconds as he watched her lowering her head to avoid looking at him after what she had just confessed. It was heartwrenching to hear her say those words with so much conviction; especially these last words. Considering what Dean thought of the young brown-haired woman, these last words made no sense for him and he needed to let her know.

"Kaitlin, you're the strongest woman I've ever met." That sentence made Kate slowly look up at him, only to find the sincerity of his tone embed in his piercing green eyes that were looking straight into her brown orbs. "And, you're not alone. You're far from being alone. You got people who cares about you, no matter what. You got Sam, Cas, Bobby, Rufus, and hell even that Matt boy… And, you got me."

" _You're not alone, Kaitlin_." That was what Dean had already told her when they were traveling down her memory lane and she was watching her past-self crying over her father who had just passed away.

"You got me, too," she replied. "You know that, right?"

All Dean did was let a light huff escape his nostrils as his lips curved into a little, gentle smile and he slowly nodded.

* * *

 _ **A moment later.**_

Standing at one corner of the room, Castiel watched Kate silently as she was close to finish cleaning the mess on the table that was due to all the locating spells she and the angel had done in order to find the Winchesters. Meanwhile, Sam was bent over at his bed as he gathered his books and his laptop inside his duffle bag and Dean who had already taken his bag to the Impala, was in the bathroom for a few minutes now.

"I know you said we were missing for days, but did you really have the time to read all these books?" Sam asked glancing up at Castiel and Kate.

"No, we actually just skimmed through them. But, the real question would actually be why do you keep all these books in your bag? I mean you could just let them in the Impala with the other books," the young woman told him.

"I like keeping the necessary at reach," he shrugged and she raised her eyebrows at him as she glanced at the thousand-page-big book that he dropped in his bag, causing a thump to echo and Kate to give him a look. "Shut it," he mumbled, knowing far well that she wanted to say something smart as her lips twitched into a playful smile.

The bathroom's door swung open behind him as the dirty-blond-haired hunter walked out, pulling everyone's attention to him.

"You're still not done?" Dean asked, his arms open as he looked at Sam who looked down at the plastic bottle his big brother was holding in one hand and the plastic water gun he was holding in the other.

"What did you do?" Sam asked in a sigh.

"Nothing," Dean replied as he glanced over at Kate and Castiel who were staring at him. "I just filled the holy oil in this bottle and rinsed the gun."

"There's still water in it," Kate remarked.

"I know," he smugly replied.

"Dude, no," Sam told him.

"What? I'm not gonna use it on you," Dean responded before passing him by and muttering, "Yet." Sam looked at him, an almost exasperated look on his face as he was ready to say something but stopped when he saw Dean stopping right next to Kate. "You're done?" Dean asked the brunette.

"In one second," she drawled as she tossed a few items in her bag and Sam saw Dean adding the bottle of holy oil while keeping the water gun in his left hand. "I'm done."

"You sure there's nothing left in your room?" Dean asked as Sam continued watching them.

"Yep. I got everything," she nodded at him.

"Alright," Dean simply replied as he took her bag and she reached for the water gun. "Hey, no-" he started but she gave him a pointed look so he rolled his eyes and swung her bag over one shoulder and gave her the water gun before they both made their way to the door. "What about we go get some food for the road?"

"I got some candy left in my bag," she told him as they continued walking.

"I don't wanna see any kind of candy for the five next weeks," he replied, earning a snort from her before she went to open the door.

"Honestly, I still don't understand why Gabriel didn't make you go in TV shows like Friends, Ally Mcbeal or Doctor Who," she said thoughtfully as Dean walked out.

"Because those are even crappier shows," he replied as she followed him.

"Hey! You better take back what you just said if you don't want me to use that gun on you," she exclaimed at him.

"You can't even shoot," Dean mocked, his voice fading as they continued down the hallway and Sam wistfully stared at the door they left wide open.

Sam couldn't help but find it quite funny how they could easily go back to that kind of friendship after ignoring each other all along the road trip back to the motel. Thinking about it, Dean and Kate seemed to do that a lot, and surely their personalities were to blame. Sam knew that Dean and Kate were both extremely complex and marked people who constantly fought with their inner demons – just like him – and that only made it harder for them to accept each other's desires. Indeed, Kate's desires appeared too dangerous and reckless for Dean, while Dean's desires appeared too stupid and lacking of sense for Kate. Nevertheless, Sam believed that they could go over that; especially after seeing them talk and leave the room as though they were in their own bubble.

Chuckling and shaking his head at that last thought, Sam looked down at the last books remaining on the bed, when Castiel's deep voice spoke up.

"I'm worried, Sam."

The young man turned his head towards the angel, his eyebrows raising as he asked, "What are you worried about?"

"Kate."

"I'm worried, too," Sam admitted. "I mean, if the angels think that they can use Kate as the weapon God created in case the Darkness gets out, then we're in trouble."

"No," Castiel made a couple of steps towards the hunter who looked at him with a curious expression. "I didn't mean that. It is irrelevant."

"It is irrelevant?" Sam repeated, staring at the angel with a disbelief look. "When Dean went to apologize to Kate in her room, I told you about what Gabriel told us. And, if I remember right, that wasn't your reaction."

"Yes, but that is irrelevant, now," the angel insisted. "I know how bad that news about Kate was, but I also know that she will never let them use her in that way."

Sam studied the angel's face for a moment before he crossed his strong arms over his chest, "So, what are you worried about?"

"Kate and her easiness with witchcraft."

"That's something to worry about?" Sam squinted his eyes, not sure if he understood what the angel had in mind.

"Yes," Castiel firmly replied. "Not only has Ruby taught her a good number of spells, but Kate also manages to combine spells together in order to create another one. Like when she adapted a human-locating spell into an object-locating spell."

"So, what? If she hadn't done that to find where we were, we would still be stuck in another, hundredth TV show," Sam replied, uncrossing his arms and waving his hands in the air. "If you want my opinion, I think she was smart to do that."

The dark-haired angel stared at the hunter as he went back to pack his bag, before approaching him with stern steps. "You don't understand, Sam. It is dangerous for her."

"I know, Cas. And so does she," Sam immediately responded. "I've already had that discussion with her a long time ago, and she knows that she mustn't play with magic. She knows that. There's nothing to worry about, all she does is using helpful locating spells or protecting spells, that's it," he shrugged.

"I watched her when she did the spells. I watched her and she was at great ease… Magic and witchcraft are two things that should never be done with that much ease, otherwise it might turn against her."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, his voice a whisper of concern as his gaze fixed at the trench-coated angel.

"Just look after her," Castiel replied, his blue eyes staring right into Sam's hazel eyes.

With that, the angel disappeared into thin air, leaving the young man alone with a handful of new questions to run in his mind.

* * *

 _ **A few days later.**_

 _ **Kansas City, Missouri.**_

With one hand holding on his opened front door, the old man made a wincing expression as a few deep coughs came out of one of the two persons standing right in front of him at his doorway. Squinting his eyes, the short old man pushed his rimless glasses up his nose, a mixture of concern and slight disgust on his round wrinkled face as he asked, "You're sure you're alright, son?"

"Yeah," Dean replied before coughing for the tenth time in less than five minutes. "I'm good. Just keep going."

That answer earned an eye roll from his brown-haired partner who was standing by his side in a black suit that matched his perfectly, aside from the fact that she was wearing a pencil skirt and a pair of rather high heels. Dean had been coughing for two days now, and whenever Kate or Sam showed a bit of concern, he waved them off, claiming that he was totally fine and that he just had a frog in his throat. Nevertheless, the young brunette believed that he had caught a cold a couple of nights ago, when he went downtown while they were at Bobby's. Indeed, after the not-really-trickster-but-archangel case, Dean had driven up to Sioux Falls so they could pay a little visit to old Bobby. They had all hoped to stay about a week at his place so they could do some researches about all the information they got out of Gabriel. The flow of information that they got from the archangel had answered some questions, but it had also brought new questions up. Nonetheless, they hadn't been able to do a lot of research as Bobby found a case in a nearby state and gave it to the three of them. Before leaving Sioux Falls, Kate had packed a bigger duffle bag so she could bring more clothes and personal belongings with her, but also a few books, all her notebooks and Pamela's latest recordings that she had yet to listen carefully to. All Sam did was leave some books at Bobby's and taking other bigger books instead. As for Dean, all he had brought with him from Bobby's was an obvious cold that he persisted to claim was only Sam and Kate's imagination.

Another loud cough escaped Dean's mouth, causing Kate to slightly flinch away from her thoughts she had lost herself in while the old man recounted them the events of last night. He was the only neighbor in the vicinity when the thirty-year old Miss Adams disappeared after an evening out with her boyfriend.

Kate looked up at Dean as he put his fist in front of his mouth and turned his freckled face away from her and the old man, so he could avoid coughing towards their faces. The brunette couldn't help the sigh that left her as she moved her gaze to the old man who raised his eyebrows as he stared at Dean who eventually stopped. When the green-eyed hunter put his hand away and turned his head back to them, he glanced at Kate and tried to ignore the look she gave him as he stirred his attention back to the man.

"So, Mister Martinez," Dean began again with his adenoidal voice. "If I recapitulate you saw Miss Adams coming home with her boyfriend at 10:30 pm and the scream was right after they walked in her apartment."

"The scream was at 10:32 pm to be precise," Mister Martinez nodded his head.

"And, you barged in there at…?" Dean asked.

"About four minutes later. I grabbed my phone, called the police, and ran toward the house. Once I was there and saw young Josh Clark – that's Miss Adams' boyfriend – on the floor, I immediately checked his pulse while I waited for the cops. But, I tell you, agents, whoever took her and knocked her boyfriend out, they were already in her house, waiting for her to get back home," the old man replied before his cellphone rang in the pocket of his cardigan vest. "Um, do you have any more questions?"

"No, thank you for your time," Dean simply responded before the old man pulled his phone up to his ear and closed his front door. The hunter could feel Kate's gaze glued on his profile, he turned his head to look at her. "What?"

"I'm just wondering, when you said to take notes of how I'm supposed to act when I show this FBI badge, is the number of coughs important? Because, I may have lost count and I don't want to get caught if I don't do the same number," she sarcastically told him, making him roll his eyes before he turned around and started walking down the flight of stairs. "Dean, seriously though. You're ill-"

"I'm not ill," he cut her off as she caught up with him in the final stairs.

"Yes, you are."

"Kaitlin, I'm not," he told her, turning around to look at her, as he was ready to argument how he couldn't be ill but was interrupted by his little brother who was calling them.

The brunette spun around to look at the taller Winchester as he passed by a few cops before bending down to pass the yellow cordon that the police had settled around the house where the freaky incident happened the previous night. Similarly to Dean and Kate, he was wearing a suit that along with their fake badges made the police and everyone else believe that they were true federal agents of the country. Since Sam and Dean agreed on making this case a training for Kate, the young woman had to pretend being an FBI newbie working on her very first case with agents Wilbert and Harrison. It had been Kate who had chosen these fake names when they had arrived in town, a hint to the rock 'n' roll singer Wilbert Harrison who made a song called Kansas City. It had amused both of the brothers to know that she wanted them to have these names while she wasn't really a fan of the singer. Kate was less amused when Dean introduced her to the cops as Agent Cherry, and she couldn't help wondering when he was ever going to stop with that ridiculous nickname.

"So?" Kate asked as Sam stopped in front of her and Dean.

"So, it's like the house was drenched in sulfur," Sam replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Demons," Dean sighed.

"Yeah, but I found something else," Sam declared as he slid one hand in his pants' pocket and pulled out a tiny black canvas bag.

"Is that…" Kate began, squinting her eyes at the object in Sam's fingers.

"A hex-bag? Yes," he replied.

"You kidding me?" Dean said, shifting on his feet as he looked at his brother who just tilted his head in answer.

"So, what? We're dealing with a demon who does witchcraft or with a witch who smells of sulfur like a demon?" Kate asked, frowning her eyebrows as she looked up at the taller Winchester.

"I don't know," Sam responded when Kate reached for the hex-bag.

"May I?"

"What for?" He asked her as his latest conversation with Castiel echoed in the back of his mind.

"Well, I just wanna make sure the spell this hexbag contains doesn't cast on you because of you have the hex-bag on you, now," the brunette explained, earning a confused look from both of the brothers before Sam handed her the hex-bag. He watched her as she pulled one strand of hair out of her head and wrapped it around the hex-bag before making a little knot.

"What's that for?" Sam asked.

"I've read somewhere that it blocks the spell of a hex-bag," she simply replied before handing him back the tiny bag. Sam looked down at the hex-bag then up at his brother who raised his eyebrows at him and lightly shrug, before Kate continued, "Anyways, so where do we start?"

"Um, well, I guess we should check the other victims' houses," Sam suggested.

"Alright," Dean started before a cough escaped his mouth. He quickly brought a fist up to put it in front of his lips as he continued coughing.

"Maybe you should rest at the motel while Kate and I go check the other places-" Sam began to say when his brother cut him off.

"No, I'm fine." When he saw the look Sam and Kate were giving him, he continued, "I just got a frog in my throat."

"It's not a frog that you've got in your throat, it's a freakin' crocodile that you've got in there!" Kate exclaimed, her frustration of him persisting on saying he didn't come up with a bug, exploding. "Besides, you look pale and you sound like Fran Fine from The Nanny."

"I don't sound like her," Dean replied, and Sam sniggered a laugh causing his brother to look up at him with an annoyed expression.

"Sorry, it's just that you kinda _do_ sound like her," Sam said in defense.

"Look, I'm not ill, okay? I've never been ill in my whole life, and it ain't gonna start today, okay? So, I'll tell you what we're gonna do." He told them before turning around to make his way up to the Impala that was parked just a few feet away. He continued, his voice getting slightly weaker and lower as though he was trying to hold back a cough, "We're gonna get in the car, drive back to the motel and then go check the other vics' places."

Sam and Kate watched him as he struggled to hold back the cough that was obviously threatening to leave his throat, while he fished his car's keys out and went to open the driver's door.

"I'm not ill," he stubbornly muttered to himself.

* * *

 _ **Moments later.**_

 _ **Kansas City, Missouri.**_

 _ **At the Stowaway's motel.**_

"I'm ill," Dean said in a half-whining tone. "But, I can't be ill-"

"Ssh, don't speak when you got the thermometer under your tongue," Kate told Dean who sighed through his nostrils while she kept holding the other end of the little device.

Bored, Dean's green eyes went traveling around the motel room the three of them were sharing. At the left of the front-door was the door leading to the all green bathroom, and at the right of the front-door was a little green and brown kitchenette with all the necessary for cooking a good homemade meal if one wanted to. A few steps away from the kitchenette was a large brown round table surrounded by four rickety green plastic chairs. Then, there was the discordant red couch next to the bright-blue-painted closet that also looked out of place in that green and brown stripped-painted-walled room. The television was settled in such a way that it could be watched whether sitting at the couch or in one of the two maple queen-size beds covered by green spreads.

The trio had returned to their motel room less than an hour ago before Sam decided to go buy their lunch at the little Chinese restaurant they had passed by in the Impala. He left Dean and Kate to change into something more comfortable than their suits and also start some digging in their current case. However, they didn't do any of that. Just like Dean, Kate had taken her light black suit jacket off, and she had stepped out of her heels as soon as they had walked in the room. Then, he had gone to the bathroom to splash some fresh water to his face and walked out with drops of water all over his white shirt's collar. Kate had then noticed that he looked even paler although he still didn't want to admit not feeling well. She had made him sit down and rest a bit before she remembered she had packed a whole first-aid kit in which there was a thermometer.

A little beeping sound came out of the white plastic stick in Dean's mouth, causing him to return his attention to the brunette standing next to him while he was sitting on the bed the nearest to the front-door.

Kate gently pulled the buccal thermometer out of his mouth and looked down to read at the information it gave her.

"What it says?" He asked her and she simply showed him the numbers displayed by the device. 100.6° Fahrenheit. "I'm ill? I can't be ill."

"Obviously, you can," she replied as she lowered the thermometer. "You've got fever, you cough all the time and you speak as though your nose is full of mucus." A grossed-out look appeared on his face, to which she rolled her eyes. "Look, it's not the end of the world," she began when he looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "Alright, not the right choice of words… But, what I mean is that it's no big deal, it's just a cold."

"A cold in the middle of June!" He exclaimed, standing up and making his way to the kitchenette's fridge.

"Well, it happens," Kate told him, turning around to look at him as he took a beer out of the fridge. She quickly went to him and grabbed the beer from his hand before he opened it.

"What are you doin'?"

"Although beer can be good for a sore throat, I don't think you should drink any of this until you feel better," she responded, looking up to meet his green eyes staring at her before she replaced the bottle in the fridge.

"You kiddin' me, right?" He sighed, slightly throwing his head back. "Kaitlin, I'm fine-" He began before a wave of coughing erupted from his mouth and it only caused her to cross her arms over her chest and to give him a pointed look that said all she was thinking. "That… _Kof, kof_ … That doesn't mean… _Kof, kof_ … That doesn't mean anything."

Right when Kate was going to say something, the front-door's strolled open with Sam returning from his little food trip down the street. His green-hazel eyes landed on them immediately as he closed the door with the heel of his shoe and made his way to the round table.

"Hey. You still haven't changed?" Sam asked them as he put the two brown bags of food on the table and his eyes spotted the mess that was scattered on the red couch. "What happened?"

"I know it's every which way, but I was looking for the thermometer to check your brother's temperature," Kate explained as Sam tore his gaze away from her clothes, books, notebooks and toilet bags that covered half of the red couch and even the floor around it. "And, guess what? His temperature is over 100.6° Fahrenheit and he still claims that he's fine."

"I _am_ fine," Dean hastened to say, next to her as Sam looked up at his brother. There was no denying that Dean looked even paler than earlier, and it wasn't that long since Sam went to buy lunch.

It was unusual for Sam to see his big brother in such a state of illness. As a matter of fact, the young man had some trouble remembering seeing his older brother ever ill in the past. Sure, Dean had had his moments when he wasn't in the best of shape, but it was always due to a case exhausting them or almost killing them, or then again because he had too much to drink. Sam could dig some more in his memory, but there wasn't one memory of a time when Dean had come up with some bug. All he could remember of were the days Dean took care of him because he was the one to be ill and not the other way around. Thus, it was both surprising and concerning to see his elder brother with such a pale face and to hear him talk in that adenoidal voice between a few coughs.

"Dean, maybe you should rest up a little bit today?" Sam suggested and when his brother opened his mouth to retort, he quickly continued. "Look, Kate and I will go check the places of the two first victims and then we'll come back to do some researches. And once we find where what we're hunting is, we'll just go all together."

Dean stared at his brother, thoughtfully, weighing the pros and the cons before finally giving in. "I suppose I have no choice but to leave the researches to you two this time. What a shame," he said, feigning to be sad about it as he went to the bags of food and Kate lightly chuckled, shaking her head.

"There are some spicy noodles in the bag with the napkins," Sam informed his brother as he took his jacket off and went to hang it on the coat rack next to the front-door.

"You mind if I clean my mess a little bit while you set the table?" Kate asked Dean, not really waiting for him to answer as she walked to the couch.

"Go ahead, princess," Dean replied, glancing up at her as she passed him by.

He did a double take when he saw her bending down to grab the few clothes that were on the floor right next to the couch. He had already noticed how good this white shirt and black skirt fitted her, but now that she was bending down, her pencil skirt accented her curves even more, and Dean just couldn't look away if he tried. He slowly tilted his head to the side, his gaze glued to her as he couldn't help but check her out.

An obnoxious cough caused him to spin around and look at his little brother who was already staring at him with a look that told him to stop what he was unashamedly doing. Dean rolled his eyes and turned around, his green eyes looking down at the bags of food before glancing up at Kate to find her already sitting on the couch as she pushed her clothes back inside the bag. Dean slightly frowned as his eyes landed on the pile of notebooks that she left out next to a couple of books about dimensions that Pamela had left for her before dying because of them. He swiftly moved his gaze back to the bags of food, gulping down at the painful memory that only reminded him how many people died because of them… Because of _him_.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

 _ **At the Stowaway's motel.**_

After lunch, Kate and Sam quickly got ready to go on and check out the houses of the two other victims. Kate had gone to the bathroom to put on a red sleeveless flannel shirt, a pair of jeans and her brown boots, while Sam tried to reason Dean into taking a nap under the covers. When she walked out of the bathroom, he was the one to go in there and change into a simple t-shirt underneath a green flannel, a pair of holed jeans and his pair of boots, while Kate tried to talk Dean into doing what his brother had told him. Eventually, Dean had conceded in lying in bed, so they could cut him some slack and finally leave to work on the case.

However, Dean hadn't been able to stay longer than five minutes under the covers. Not only he couldn't bear the heat of that already very heated day of June, but he was also uncomfortable in sleeping in his suit pants and his white tank top that he had put on underneath his white shirt this morning. Thus, the green-eyed man had decided to change into a pair of old black shorts and got rid of the top. Then, he had spent about ten minutes trying to make the air-conditioner work; in vain. The following hour had been spent by him trying to keep himself out of boredom. He tried watching television but after an hour, the crappy shows reminded him of what happened with the archangel a few days ago, so his interest in television vanished.

After trying again to get some shut eye for a couple of minutes, Dean gave up and stood up to get Sam's laptop since his own was out of battery. Although he was boring, he wasn't going to let his chance of avoiding doing researches pass, but as he sat down on his bed and he looked at the search engine, blank filled his mind. He was so used of typing down 'freaky accidents' and all these kind of things whenever he switched on the internet, that now he was clueless as to what to do. Nevertheless, it didn't take him very long to come up with something to do.

Pursing his lips, he typed down the words that would lead him to one of his favorite websites – if not his favorite website – to pass the time in a very joyful way.

Dean grinned as he clicked on the website and music mixed with light moans echoed in the room. He positioned the pillows on his back, in such a way that would make his sitting comfortable enough before he put his whole attention back to the erotic images flashing on the website.

"Awesome," he told himself as he clicked on the list of newest videos.

A video appealed his attention the most, he clicked on it and was taken by surprise to have it start without foreplay, but that was a good surprise. However, that good surprise distracted him so much that he didn't hear the steps coming in the motel's hallway down to their room.

It was when the door started to get unlocked from the other side that Dean's attention was pulled away from the video. He snapped his head towards the door and heard Kate's voice talking. His eyes widened in panic of her walking in on him at such an intimate moment. He moved his attention back to the laptop and tried to shut the website off in time, but she pushed the door open too quickly so he simply slammed the laptop shut.

"Yeah, I'll check it out, but I-" Kate was saying before she stopped as she saw Dean sitting on his bed without a shirt on and looking rather flustered. "I'll call you back in a few, Matt," she hung up and looked at Dean, while making sure not to let her eyes wander down to his bare tan chest. "Um, sorry, were you changing?"

"What? N-no," he said swinging his legs off the bed and standing up. "It's just… I was feeling hot... So, I was gonna take a shower."

"Right," Kate replied, not finding anything else to say as her eyes moved on their own to throw a quick glance down to his chest. Although it was a quick glance, it was long enough for her to see that his tan chest was hairless and toned. Surely, her dream hadn't been fair at all, he was even better-looking under his shirt than what her brain had come up with in that not-kosher dream all those nights ago.

"Where's Sam?" He inquired as he turned around, giving her his back to her as he bent down to grab a t-shirt from his opened bag. She couldn't help but wander her brown eyes all over his strong back before he slipped his shirt on.

When he turned around, she couldn't help the light pink that appeared on her cheeks and she cursed at herself for reacting that way. It wasn't the first time she saw a man without a shirt on, she shouldn't react this way. But she did, and she had no idea why, although she blamed it all on that dream that never truly left her memory since.

"So, where's Sam?" Dean repeated.

"Oh, um, he's gathering a bit more of information at the police station," she responded, mentally shaking away the thoughts that were making her slightly blush.

"Why you ain't with him?" He asked, genuinely curious since this case was supposed to be the one during which she would officially learn the Winchesters' method of working a case.

"I came here to give you this," she pulled her arm out towards him, holding up a tiny white paper bag that he eyed suspiciously before advancing towards her. He took the paper bag and looked at what was inside as she continued, "It's from the drugstore."

"I don't wanna take any medicine," he told her, handing it back to her and making her look up at his pale freckled face.

"It's cute how you think you have the choice," she commented with a soft sarcasm. "Look, it's only aspirin, a syrup for your throat and something for your nose. This way, you'll get better soon and above all else you won't pass your cold onto Sam or me."

Dean snorted at the last part of her sentence, before nodding, "Got it."

"Good," she replied, the slight firmness of her voice wasted by the soft expression in her brown eyes as she looked up into his green orbs. "I gotta go check something in the library. So, please follow what the pharmacist wrote in the paper you'll find inside." Dean glanced down at the bag as the brunette took a couple of steps back before spinning around to open the door. "And, Dean," she said, turning her head to him as she held the door open. "Make sure to rest after your shower."

"Shower?"

"Yeah, you said you were gonna get a shower," she said, her eyebrows slowly frowning at his confused expression.

"Oh, right! Yeah, yeah. I'm on my way."

"Alright," she drawled out, her eyes slightly squinting in suspicious as she looked at him. However, she didn't think too much of it as she announced, "See you later."

"Yeah," he simply said as she stepped outside and pulled the door to close it. "Oh, wait, Kaitlin!" He exclaimed going to the door and pulling it slightly open to find Kate looking at him expectantly. "When you and… _Kof kof_ ," he put his fist against his mouth before continuing. "When you and Sam come back, give me a ring, first, huh?"

"Um, yeah, sure."

"Awesome," he simply stated, earning a puzzled look from her before he finally let her go where she had to go while he went back in the room.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

 _ **At the Stowaway's motel.**_

The Spanish words echoed frenziedly in the room as the television was switched on some Mexican soap opera that the elder Winchester has been engrossed in for over three hours now. Meanwhile, Sam and Kate who had returned less than an hour ago, were thoroughly buried in research of this case that seemed to confuse them more and more every time they found something. They still weren't certain if they were dealing with a witch or with a demon, or with both. Nevertheless, it didn't slow them down. If that thing taking these women was following some kind of ritual of having a woman a day, then a fourth woman would disappear tonight around 10:30 pm, too. Since it was now past 7pm, they had to hurry up and find some clue that could tell them where that supernatural being was going to appear tonight. Whatever that thing was that they were dealing with, they had to find them and stop them before it was too late. They were fairly convinced that they could take care of this case at the two of them, and they both agreed on letting the obviously still under-the-weather Dean rest as much as possible – or watch noisy television as much as possible.

"Dean!" Sam called for the fifth time, from the table where he was sitting, researching with Kate.

"What?" Dean asked from his bed where he was laying under two thick covers that Kate had brought from the reception in order to get him to sweat and his cold away with the help of the medicine she had bought him earlier.

"You did it again," Sam replied, looking at him with an almost annoyed look.

"Did what?" Dean asked, his green eyes glued to the television.

"You turned up the volume," Sam stated.

"I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Guys," Kate breathed out as her eyes were fixing at the laptop's screen in front of her.

"No, I didn't," Dean retorted again, in his adenoidal voice. "I can't help it if you've developed some super-earring power."

"Dean-" Sam started with a sigh when Kate interrupted him with an exclamation.

"Guys!" Both Sam and Dean moved their heads towards her. "I think I know which lady our monster of the week is gonna attack tonight."

"What?" Sam frowned, leaving his chair to stand behind her and get a look at what was displaying on the laptop's screen, while Dean just stared at her from his bed.

Dean's eyes drifted to Sam as he leaned down, one hand on the back of Kate's chair and another on the table as his eyes scanned the old article that Kate had dug out from the internet. Whatever Sam and Kate were saying about the case right then, slowly fainted away as Dean's thoughts became louder in his head.

What if the new path he had taken in order to avoid that post-apocalyptic world Zachariah showed him, was only leading him down a more dangerous world? What if that new path was leading them all in a world where Kate wouldn't return home and would become that so-destructive weapon? Would that kind of future really be much worse than the one he visited?

He was powerless to turn these thoughts down as he watched his brother taking a couple of steps back and Kate turning around on her chair to keep on explaining whatever she had to explain. He was looking at them, without looking at them as questions kept running noisily in his mind.

But, what if Lucifer's words were true? What if, no matter what he did, Kate would still get killed by Croatoans and Lucifer would still possess Sam? What if, no matter what he did, they would always end up _**there**_?

As Sam went to grab his brown jacket and the Impala's keys on the maple nightstand, Dean came out of his thoughts. "Where you goin'?"

"You didn't hear what we said?" Sam told him as he slipped his arms in his jacket. "We're gonna check the two addresses."

"What?" Dean frowned up at him, not understanding a word he was saying. He glanced over at Kate and saw her grabbing her own jacket as well. In one movement, he pressed the mute button of the television remote and sat up on his bed. "Can you guys enlighten me a little bit here?"

"The three missing women were all in the same book club that they held every other night at 10pm with two other women. That may be the link between them all," Kate summed up what Sam and she had just discussed before heading for the bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute," she told Sam before closing the door behind her.

The younger man walked to his duffle bag, taking out the few weapons he had in there and equipping himself with them, while his brother wearing only a very old pair of shorts and a grey t-shirt got out of bed and went to grab his own duffle bag.

"What are you doing?" Sam eyed his brother who fished out of his bag a pair of denim pants and a black t-shirt.

"Getting ready."

"Dean, you're not coming."

"Oh hell, I'm not," Dean replied. "If you remember, the reason I agreed on skipping the research was so that I can still come when we find that son of a bitch."

"No, Dean, the only reason you agreed is because you hate research," Sam said in return before letting out a heavy breath as he glanced over at the bathroom's door. "Look, I know why you wanna come. But, you don't have to worry. I'll look after her. And I won't let her… Get her hands dirty."

Dean stared at him for a moment, thankful and touched by the fact that his brother hadn't forgotten what they had talked about days ago; keeping Kate safe and preventing her from getting her hands dirty. Although life has been quite complicated for the two brothers lately, Dean knew he could trust Sam for that mission. Whether Dean had doubted if he could trust Sam when there was Ruby, or after Ruby, he was utterly sure that he could trust Sam when it came to Kate. It was obvious how much Sam cared about that young brown-eyed woman from another world. If all these calls between the two of them wasn't enough to point out the obvious, the way Sam talked about her could make it. For a long time, Dean believed that Sam had an unconfessed crush on the brunette, but as time passed by, he realized that it was something else. Sam cared about the young woman, but it was nothing romantic; not even the slightest. For some reason, that knowledge always brought some relief to Dean.

When the bathroom's door swung open and Kate walked out, she was surprised to see Dean standing with clothes in his arms.

"Wait, Dean, you can't come with us," she immediately said, looking at the hunter's profile as he and his little brother were staring at each other.

"I'm not," Dean declared, shortly after. He dropped his clothes on top of his duffle bag and turned to look at her with his intense green eyes.

"Alright. We'll call you," Sam announced before walking to the front-door with Kate following him close behind.

Dean stared at the door as it closed, leaving him alone in the room. Sighing, he turned his gaze down to his bag on the edge of his bed, his denim pants and his t-shirt calling him to put them on and just go after Sam and Kate. He knew he could trust Sam to protect Kate if they got attacked, but knowing Kate, she would do her best to protect Sam as well. She won't care about the consequences as long as she protected Sam. If the demon or the witch whatever the thing they were hunting was, came to find them, the least of Kate's problems would be to keep her hands clean like Dean had told her he wanted her to. No way could he risk that to happen.

"Screw it," he told himself, pulling his t-shirt off so he could quickly change and discreetly follow them.

The front-door suddenly opened, "Dean-"

The green-eyed hunter spun around with round eyes of surprise that mirrored the ones of the brunette standing at the doorway.

"Um, I… Why are you changing?"

"I'm not," he lied. "I was…" He lightly coughed. "I was gonna take a shower."

"Again?"

"I've been sweating a lot today. Why you're here?"

"I just…" She trailed off, her brown eyes looking everywhere but at him and his bare tan chest as he put his grey t-shirt back on. "I didn't wanna leave without, um, without reassuring you."

"Reassuring me?" He inquired and she shifted her gaze back to him.

"Yeah, I wanted you to know that I'm not gonna do all these, well, all these things you don't want me to do," she briefly explained, making Dean study her facial features.

He knew she wasn't only saying this to reassure him, she was making a promise to him. And with that promise, she showed him that what they talked about after the Trickster's case wasn't in vain. With that promise, she showed him that since he respected his part of the deal that was to not leave her on her own, she respected her part of the deal that was not to risk her life and not to get her hands dirty. With that promise, she showed him that she knew him more than what he thought, and he liked that. He liked to know that someone else than his brother, knew him well enough to know when he needed to be reassured.

"Alright," Dean simply let out, not certain of what else to say.

"Alright," she softly repeated, biting on her bottom lip as her eyes glanced down at his now covered chest. "I should go," she stepped back, her hand going to the door's handle. "Sam's waiting for me."

"Yeah," he replied as she started pulling the door close. "Kaitlin?"

"Mmh?"

"You be careful," he told her, his green eyes staring straight into her brown ones.

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "And, you take your medicine and rest, alright?"

"Alright."

"Alright," she repeated again before finally pulling the door closed.

Dean stared at the door again before sighing. He turned his head to look at his duffle bag and he pushed it with the knee until it dropped on the floor with a thump. As much as it was itching him to just put on his clothes and watch after both Sam and Dean, he decided against that idea. He trusted Sam and his promise, and he trusted Kate and her promise.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **Middle of the afternoon.**_

 _ **At the Stowaway's motel.**_

The sun was shining through the windows, flooding the whole room in bright light when Kate pushed the door open and walked in, carrying a big cheap grey fan in her arms. After the man at the reception told her that the repairman couldn't come fix the air conditioner in their room before another couple of days, he loaned her one of the two fans he had in the reception hall. Kate had been grateful, because it would not only cool the room a bit, but it would also, if not especially, get Dean to stop complaining about feeling too hot every minute while she and Sam were working at the table.

"Where's Dean?" The young woman asked as she slammed the door closed with a movement of her hip.

"Shower," Sam said in reply, his eyes unrelentingly focused on his laptop's screen.

Kate nodded as she made her way to the television and put the fan right next to it. She crouched down, unplugged the television cable and plugged the fan's instead. She adjusted the fan so its speed wasn't too much nor too little. She shrunk, watching the fan as it slowly turned towards Sam's direction. A long content smile came out of him, causing her to spin around with a smile on her lips.

"Feels good, huh?"

"You said it," Sam agreed. "By the way, Bobby called."

"Oh yeah?" She asked, walking to the seat she was sitting on before she went to the motel's reception for the third time in a day.

"Yeah. And, he found out what the little black seeds you found in the hex-bag are for," Sam told her, leaning back in his seat as Kate urged him with her eyes. "Apparently they're used in some cultures for protection against the evil eye." Kate grimaced in utter confusion. "It's not just that," he held one finger up. "The so-called book club they held every night, was actually a witchcraft club."

"So, all the missing women were witches?"

"No, they were trying to become witches," Sam told her.

"How do you know that?"

"Their bank statements show that these past three months, they paid for all kind of things. From children's magic books to witches' tales. But, things got serious when one month ago, they did shopping in the Crow's shop. I just checked the lists of what they bought, it's all black magic stuff."

"But, we didn't find anything at their houses. Not one single trace of magic aside from these hex-bags," Kate stated. "I mean, we even searched up the places of the two other members of that club yesterday."

"Yeah, well, remember what Miss James said last night?" Sam asked. "About that holiday's cabin in the woods outside town?"

"You think she left the witchcraft things there?" She asked and he gave a tilt of the head with a quirk of an eyebrow. "But, what about the demon?"

"I suppose that they did a spell that went wrong and they summoned a demon without even knowing it."

"Alright, maybe you should go check that cabin and find what kind of spell it was and I will try to see if I can locate the four missing women," she suggested and Sam shifted straight up on his seat at that.

"Locate them?"

"Yeah, a little bit of witchcraft to locate wanna-be-witches, what an irony," she gave him a playful exaggerated wink.

"Um, you really think that's a good idea?" Sam tentatively asked.

"You think it's not?" Kate frowned at him. "As far as I know, they're still innocent people. I mean, sure they did a few hex-bags to protect themselves from the evil eye or whatever else, and they may have summoned a demon unwillingly, but they still are innocent people."

"Yeah, I know. Of course, they are. But, Katie, you know, Dean and I, we don't usually work that way. If something's happening, we don't always turn to _that_. Actually, we barely ever turn to that. And, I know some spells can be useful, but as you can see with this case, some can be really dangerous, too."

"I'm aware of that, Sam," she replied. "But, it's not like I'm doing black magic for personal purposes, which is certainly what these women did and also the reason why a demon is after them, if you want my theory."

"I know that you don't do that for personal purpose. I really know that, Katie. But, it's still witchcraft, and it's not… We shouldn't use the easy way all the time-"

"I'm not doing it all the time," Kate interrupted him, her eyebrows softly frowned as she looked at him, slowly understanding that he was accusing her of doing so.

"That's not what I'm saying," he defended himself before taking a deep breath through his nostrils and continuing, "Look, I know Ruby gave you a few useful tricks and I know that you've learned from a few books too, but what Ruby and these books didn't tell you is that, witchcraft comes at a price."

"I know, you've already told me," she whispered in reply, remembering time he found out about her getting teaching lessons about witchcraft from Ruby. "And, trust me I'm not stupid. I'm being careful and I only do little, innocent spells, Sam."

"Usually, it starts like that. People try little, innocent spells and without even knowing it the next thing they do is summoning a demon," he explained as Kate bit on her bottom lip and looked away for a moment before meeting his bright hazel gaze again. "Katie, I don't need you to be careful with witchcraft, I just need you to stop every kind of witchcraft. Black or white magic. You don't need that to help us hunt, or to resolve a case faster, or even to locate missing people."

Kate could see the desperation mixed with worry in his bright hazel eyes and she wondered what had put it in there, but she didn't ask. Instead, she told him, in a soft whisper, what she knew he needed to hear, "I promise, you won't see me doing any magic or witchcraft anytime soon, or late."

"Thank you," he gently smiled, relief visible all over his face.

"I don't wanna hear any complains about the hot water," Dean's voice appeared, causing Sam to turn his head towards his brother while Kate looked down, biting on her lower lip as her mind started to think deeply about that conversation she just had with the younger Winchester.

"I thought you wanted a cold shower because of the heat?" Sam asked his brother who was dressed in pair of joggings and a black t-shirt as he was wiping his wet hair with a towel.

"Well, I changed my mind," Dean shrugged before he tossed his towel on the bed as he advanced towards the fan while Sam stood up to walk to the fridge and Kate shook her thoughts away. "That's what the receptionist gave you, Cherry?" He asked, glancing at the young woman as he analyzed the fan. "Why isn't it at full speed?"

"Dean, leave it alone and don't stay in front of it, you might worsen your condition," Kate told him in a firm tone, causing the man to roll his eyes before Sam handed her a beer as he sat down at this seat to drink his own, too.

"Hey… _Kof kof_ , you didn't forget your brother, here?"

Sam raised his eyebrows as he looked over at Dean, "Katie said you shouldn't drink alcohol."

"C'mon, beer is barely alcohol."

"It is alcohol, Dean," Kate told him before pointing her beer at him. "And, as long as you will keep coughing your lungs out every other sentences, you will only drink water and your syrup," she finished before bringing her beer to her lips and taking a long sip of it.

Sam's laptop made a beeping sound, preventing Dean of coming up with something to reply to Kate.

"What is it?" Kate asked him as she leaned forward to look at his laptop's screen. "Oh, crap…" She breathed out before looking up at Sam. "We better go, now."

"Yeah," Sam agreed as they both stood up.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, looking back and forth at them as they hurriedly put on their jackets and grabbed their stuff.

"The police just found one of the missing women," Sam quickly explained to Dean as he went to grab the Impala's keys.

"You're both leaving? Kaitlin, at least stay with me, I'm dying of boredom on my own here," Dean nearly pleaded the young woman as she grabbed her fake FBI badge from the red couch.

"Sorry, can't do that," Kate told him as she ran to the door where Sam was waiting for her. "Just watch tv, or read some books," she waved at the books and notebooks on the couch.

Dean didn't have the time to say anything as both she and Sam walked away, slamming the door behind them.

"To watch tv and remember the screwed-up time passed at TV land again, or to read long boring books," Dean told himself before sighing. "That is the damn question."

* * *

 _ **Hours later.**_

 _ **At the Stowaway's motel.**_

It was around two in the morning when Kate heard Dean groan and roll in his bed. Technically, it hadn't waken her up since she wasn't really sleeping.

Indeed, it had been over three hours since Sam dropped her off at the motel and she still wasn't sleeping. Sam had gone with Miss James – the woman that was going to disappear too, if Sam and Kate hadn't been there – so he could keep her safe until they got rid of the demon that had run away when Kate had started exorcizing it. Kate had agreed to let him go with Miss James because she knew she could use that time to research and maybe find where the missing women were. Indeed, the demon had slipped that they were still alive, and there was no way she would get some shut eye before she found a lead as to where they were.

When Kate had returned in the room, she had found Dean already fast asleep, and wanting to keep it that way, she had done her research in utter silence after changing in her sleeping clothes. She hadn't switched on any light, except for the flashlight that she had settled on top of her forehead that permitted her to research without straining her sight. After two hours of research, Sam had called her with good news. Apparently, the missing women had been found in a warehouse and no harm had been done to them. Sam had told her to get some shut eye, because tomorrow they would have to do harder work in the seeking of that demon.

Kate had decided that Sam was right, so she had put the books and the laptop that was on her lap, down on the floor next to her. She struggled for about half an hour to find a comfortable position, let alone to shut her eyes. The darkness of the quiet room hadn't been helpful. The light snores coming from Dean and the tickling of the clock hung in the kitchenette weren't to blame; her brain was. Although she was slowly overcoming that feeling of loneliness that always gripped at her when she was surrounded by silence, she was still having a hard time with her inner demons. Indeed, these inner demons of hers that appeared when she was younger, had grown ever since her arrival in this universe. The hard and painful reality that this world was, and all these images that wouldn't leave her mind had caused her to question her life in between what could be called tiny panic crisis. Nevertheless she would be lying if she said that being with Sam and Dean didn't bring her some sense of solace. Sharing a room with them and being full part of the hunt were both giving her a feeling of comfort and safety that prevented her dark thoughts to get the best of her. It also made her realize that even though these inner demons had grown stronger, so had she.

" _Kaitlin, you're the strongest woman I've ever met,"_ Dean's voice echoed in her head.

Another groan of pain coming from Dean made Kate frown and sit up on the couch. She reached for the flashlight laying with the books on the floor and switched on before directing it towards him. From her spot, she could see Dean moving his head to the left and to the right, and Kate was sure that he was having a nightmare. With no hesitation, she stood up and walked up to him, switching off the flashlight as she clicked the nightstand's lamp on instead, and put the flashlight down next to it.

Her brown eyes immediately fell on Dean's sweaty face that was crouched in pain. She frowned at him, concern growing even stronger inside of her as she slowly rested one hand on his bare arm to gently shake him awake. His skin was extremely hot and it only increased Kate's worry as she shook him a bit more, whispering his name as she silently prayed that his nightmare wasn't about Hell.

"Dean," she whispered louder as she squeezed her hand around his arm and shook a bit more fervently. Dean snapped his eyes open, and Kate quickly reassured him before he attacked her, "It's me. It's Kate. It's Kaitlin."

Dean frowned as his eyes adjusted to what was standing in front of him. The lamp's light was bright enough for him to make out the brunette in her blue tank top and the pair of white shorts that used to be his before she claimed ownership of it months ago.

His voice was little and confused as he stared up at her, "Kaitlin? Did I wake you?"

"No. I wasn't sleeping," she replied in a whisper as he shifted his gaze to the other queen bed.

"Where's Sam?"

"He stayed with the woman we saved tonight," she simply answered before resting her hand on his forehead, he brought his green eyes full of confusion back to her. "You're burning up, Dean. Are you sure you took the medicine I brought you earlier?"

"Yeah," he simply replied, his voice still adenoidal.

"Maybe I should give you some more aspirin?" She asked more to herself than to him as his eyes roamed her face. "Do you want me to make you some herbal tea instead? I've got some sachets in my bag... Dean, you're with me?"

"Huh? What?"

"Do you want some aspirin or a tea?"

"Aspirin will do."

"Alright," she declared before walking to the round table where Dean's medicine was.

She rummaged in the paper bag and fished out the bottle of aspirin before making her way up to the fridge. She took a fresh bottle of water and swiftly made her way back to him as he sat up, his covers falling to his lap as she handed him the water and the aspirin and he coughed loudly. Biting on her lower lip, Kate watched him for a moment, her eyes travelling all over his sweaty face and the obviously full of sweat t-shirt that he was wearing. Without wasting time, she went to grab a chair from the round table and settled in next to his bed while he swallow the aspirin down with the water. She went to the kitchenette again and filled a bowl with water before grabbing a neat towel from her bag and returning by Dean's sides. The hunter quietly followed her every moves as she put the bowl of water on the chair, sat down on the bed next to him and plunged the towel in the bowl.

"What… What are you doing?" He inquired before coughing deeply as she wrung the water off the towel.

"Sshh," she brought the wet towel up to his face and gently applied it on his forehead.

Dean remained quiet as she gently wiped the sweat away from his skin, the coolness of the wet towel so soothing against his hot skin that his eyes almost closed themselves. But they didn't. His eyes were too hypnotized by the soft face of that brunette sitting next to him and taking care of him with such genuine tenderness. Her brown eyes sparkled in the dim-lit room as they followed the trail of the towel as she slid it down to his temps, cheeks and jaw. He shifted his gaze to her hands when she took the towel away from his skin to plunge it back into the water.

Her hands were tinier than his, but they were strong enough to handle much more than any woman should ever have to. He watched them wringing the water off the towel before she went back on applying it on his overheated skin.

"Maybe I should have made you an herbal tea instead… My father used to give me a good herbal tea and advise me to sweat the illness out of me," she murmured.

"I ain't really a tea guy," he replied, causing her to lightly chuckle. "Besides, it won't take long before the aspirin kicks in."

"Right," she simply whispered, sliding the wet towel to the back of his neck. "Do you… Do you wanna change?"

"Why?"

"Well, your shirt is almost soaked in sweat," she replied, still in a whisper.

"Trying to get me naked, Agent Cherry?" He asked in a flirty tone, causing Kate to stop the movements of her hand and look up at his face to meet his green gaze with her own.

"Really, Dean? Your temperature has to be over 101° Fahrenheit right now, and you have a nasal voice, and you still find the strength to flirt?"

"Hey, you're the one who started it," he responded, shrugging one shoulder. "Anyways, why are you whispering? There's the only the two of us here."

"I don't know," she shrugged as she took the towel and put it in the bowl of water.

"Out of habit, huh?" He told her, remembering what she told him a long time ago.

She watched his pale face and announced, "I'm still gonna make you that tea, whether you're a tea guy or not." She started to stand up, but his hand grabbed her forearm stopping her.

She questioned him with her eyes, and he answered with one word, "Stay."

She looked down at his hand wrapped around her forearm in a firm grip that was still gentle, as old words of his appeared in the back of her head.

" _I don't even know how to explain this to myself, but there's this thing about you… Maybe it's just with me or maybe everyone feels it, or maybe I'm just over-feeling things. But you give off this thing… It's relaxing, soothing. It feels good…"_

"Do you still feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"You know…" She simply replied, her eyes moving up to meet his green eyes, hoping that he would understand what she was talking about. Dean didn't say anything as he stared right into her brown eyes with intensity before he looked down at his hand around her arm.

"When I got sick, my mother used to make me tomato-rice soup," he confided out of the blue while his thumb slowly started to trace gentle circles on her skin. "No tea of any kind... Just tomato-rice soup."

"I thought, you've never been ill?" She asked, still whispering. "Even Sam told me that…"

"I ain't Superman, Kaitlin," he replied. "I've already caught a bug several times in my life, I just never let it slow me down on a hunt. Besides, I never had anyone to force me to rest before… _Kof kof_ …" He moved his head to the side so he wouldn't cough towards her face. Once he was done, his voice was nearly a whisper as he continued, "I've been ill quite a few times when I was a kid and my mother was still-" He cut himself off, not able to finish that sentence. After a short pause, he began again, "I remember her bringing me that soup to bed, and humming that song she used to sing me and Sam to sleep. I remember her wiping my sweat away the same way you did, I remember the peach perfume of her hair as she leaned down to kiss my head and… I remember feeling good. I was ill, puking my guts out, but I was feeling good. And I know it's not me making up stories to fill the hole left in me since she's gone. I _know_ that these are true memories... I was feeling good, because she was taking care of me." Kate didn't interrupt him once, letting him say the words that have possibly never came out of his mouth in the past. "So, _yes_."

" _Yes_?" She breathed out, confused.

" _Yes_ , I do feel it," he elaborated, causing her to scan his face before looking down at his hand. She brought her other hand and rested it on top of his, before gently caressing the back of his hand with her soft thumb, causing his own thumb to stop its movement.

"Then, I'm not going anywhere," she gave him a soft smile.

"Not right now, maybe… But, soon, you will."

"No, I'm not. Besides, I think Matt is tired of babysitting me," she attempted to joke, but Dean's facial expression showed her that he wasn't amused. "You weren't talking about me going with Matt, were you?"

"What about that tea, huh?" Dean asked, changing the topic as he pulled his hand away from her. It caused Kate to frown in puzzlement, but she still nodded at him and went to her bag where the herbal tea sachets were.

As the young woman prepared the tea in the kitchenette, Dean coughed several times, but other than that, the room remained silent. Both Dean and Kate deeply buried in their thoughts that proved to be not very different, although they weren't aware of that. In about ten minutes, Kate had the hot tea in a mug and brought it to Dean, before taking the bowl of water off the chair and putting it on the nightstand next to his medicine and the lamp.

She sat down on the chair and watched him as he brought the mug up to his lips and then cursed as he took it away. "Damn, it's hot!"

"Give me that," Kate told him as she took the mug from his hands and started to blow on it, to get it a bit cooler so he could drink without burning his lips or his tongue.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing. You could have done it yourself," she replied before blowing on the hot liquid again.

"I meant, thanks for taking care of me," he elaborated, his tone gentle and sincere.

"Well, like I've already told you, I can't have you pass your cold onto Sam or me," she responded. Dean snorted at that, his lips curving into a smile as he watched her face. "Here you go," she handed him the mug. "I'm pretty sure you can sip on it now."

He took the mug and glanced down at it before putting up to his lips. He took a sip of it and then another before licking his lips, and returning his gaze over the brunette watching him. "Doesn't taste bad," he commented, causing a smile to form on her lips.

Minutes passed and Dean kept on sipping on his herbal tea while Kate remained by his sides, both of them quiet as silence filled the room. It was a silence full of comfort that both of them could feel, and they enjoyed it. There was no need of saying anything, because it already felt good and keeping it that way was an unspoken agreement that they both liked.

Fifteen minutes later, Dean had already drunk half of the tea and its effects that he didn't know about, were slowly kicking in. Kate took the mug from him as she saw that he was slowly drifting to sleep. She put the mug on the nightstand and helped him to slip under his covers.

"Kaitlin… Did you… Did you drug me?" Dean mumbled as she pulled the covers up to his shoulders.

"No," she gently chuckled. "There's just a bit of camomile in the tea. Don't worry, it won't do any harm with the aspirin you took."

Dean mumbled something not clear as Kate touched his forehead with the back of her head to check his temperature again. He wasn't burning hot anymore, which brought relief in the young woman. She watched him as he frowned up at her like a confused little boy.

"Go to sleep, Dean," she murmured to him with a soft smile as she rolled her hand over and started to stroke his forehead with tenderness.

"Where you goin'?" He mumbled, closing his eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere," she responded as she slowly sat down on the seat next to him, her hand leaving his forehead and resting on her lap with her other hand as she watched him.

Kate slightly tilted her head to the side as she thought that he looked cute tucked in bed, slowly falling asleep and looking so vulnerable. This thought inevitably grew a feeling of guiltiness inside of her, but she couldn't help it. She mentally shook this thought away and grabbed the mug of herbal tea to drink the other half of tea, assuming that she could use some sleep too, even if it was on a rickety plastic chair.

As she put the mug back on the nightstand, Dean's weak voice came up as a mumble.

"I think it's the blood…"

"What?" Kate frowned, not having a single clue as to what he was saying.

"The blood… It's always the blood…"

"Alright, here comes the delirious babble," Kate muttered to herself as she rubbed her eyelids.

"It's in the book… And Pam's recordings…" Kate pulled her hand away from her eyelids and turned her attention back to Dean as a slight frown of focus appeared on her face. "You don't need Chronos to go back…" His words weren't distinctly said, but Kate could still make out every words he was saying, and these words weren't delirious babbles. "All you need… Blood… It's your blood…"

The young woman stared at him as thoughts and questions started to get wild, running left and right, up and down in her head. When she and Sam had returned around seven pm, to give Dean his dinner before going back to take care of the case, she had seen him reading one of the books she had brought along. She had also seen Pamela's recordings on his bed and he had told her that he had listened to a few. She had been unmindful about this, after all she had read his father's journal without him knowing it nor consenting on it.

She wanted to check if his words were true. She wanted to check the book and Pamela's last recordings _right now._ She wanted to check if she really missed something that huge. She wanted to check if his words were true.

But when Dean continued babbling, she found herself unable to do that right away.

"I don't want… I don't want you to go…"

His hand sneaked out of the covers, as though it was trying to reach out for her.

She looked at his hand as it slipped out of the covers even more, making his whole arm hang out.

Naturally, she took his hand as it hung just above her lap.

She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and tenderly caressed the back of his hand.

All her thoughts of checking if his words were true, vanished, replaced by the memories of what she had read in John Winchester's journals, Chuck Shurley's books and what Sam and Dean recounted to her.

She knew she couldn't let them down.

"I'm not going anywhere, Dean," she softly whispered to him as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **At the Stowaway's motel.**_

It was seven in the morning when the room's front door slid open and the tall brown-haired hunter quietly stepped in, yawning with his eyes closed before turning around to close the door. After getting rid of the demon on his own half an hour ago, he was exhausted. He rubbed tiredness off his eyes as he turned around again, his whole body stopped every movement as his gaze now noticed a scenery that made him realize he wasn't the only one to have spent a long night.

Lying in bed with blankets covering up to his elbows, Dean was asleep with an arm hanging out of his bed, as Kate, in her tank top and large pair of shorts, was sleeping on a chair settled in between the two beds, but the closest to Dean's bed. Their breathing was soft and measured, Kate and Dean's chests rising and falling at the same slow rhythm, making it obvious for Sam that they were both fast asleep.

As he approached them, the nightstand's lamp lit up the dark room enough for Sam to see the towel floating in the bowl half-full of water that was on the maple nightstand along with Dean's medicines and a mug with a rest of what looked like tea or tisane. His gaze moved to his brother's face, and he furrowed his brow as he noticed there was a peace and serenity painted all over it that looked more intense than ever. Sam wondered if it was due to the fact that he was ill, but when he traveled his eyes to his brother's arm that was hanging out of the bed, he saw something that made him reconsider that thought.

Dean's fingertips were touching Kate's short-clad lap as she had her hand lying on his fingers and the back of his hand.

Sam knew his brother better than anyone else, and he knew that his brother wasn't the kind of guy to have his hand held by anyone, so he was pretty sure that Kate had been the one to take his hand in hers when he had fallen asleep. Nonetheless, the thought of Kate taking his hand in hers while he was still awake still travelled his mind, and this thought caused him to let out a light chuckle as a corner smile formed on his lips.

The thing was that Kate was an extremely caring young woman, and Sam had witnessed it quite quickly. Indeed, from the moment she got in their world, she had always shown compassion, gentleness and support, even when she had been suspicious about them and what they told her. The whole situation she had found herself should have made her run away, call the cops on them or do any other thing. But, all she had done was be there for them, help them and take care of them. She never had to, but it was in her personality and nothing could stop her; not even herself. That was what Sam had liked about her when he got to know her all those months ago.

He could remember easily his brother's words whenever he mentioned the impossible girl, before Dean began to fully trust her.

" _Sammy… Do you, I don't know, like her?"_

Even Ruby had made the remark.

 _"Look, Sammy, it's okay. A hot chick crashes in your life, she's kind, caring; it's hard not to crush on that,"_ the demon had told him.

And, Ellen had noticed it, too.

" _Your face and the way you said those two words. Look, I'm not saying you're in love with the girl, but don't think you can trick me by saying she's nothing to you,"_ the huntress had told him.

Nevertheless, Sam knew better than anyone what was in his heart, and he knew that he didn't like the young woman that way. He would be lying if he said that it hadn't been the case when he first met her, but who could be blamed? Like Ruby had so well put it, it was hard to not crush on a pretty, intelligent, kind, easy-going and affectionate woman coming out of nowhere. Once again, like Ruby had so well put it, a crush always went away, and that was what happened to his after a couple of months. He had noticed when he had tried to get Kate to come back at Bobby's last January. After the events with Alastair and Uriel, she had run off, and Sam had realized that he truly cared about her, but was no longer secretly and moderately crushing on her. He cared about the good person that she was and he cared about the good friend that she was everyday becoming more and more.

Sam moved his gaze to Dean's peaceful face and he lightly snorted. Sam had told Ellen that Kate wasn't nothing for him, but as he thought about it now, he realized that Kate wasn't nothing for Dean either.

Yawning, Sam moved his gaze to the other queen bed. He didn't make any noise as he took his jacket off and laid down on his back. He was so tired that he didn't have any more strength to take off his boots or to change into other clothes. Besides, he knew that since the case was all wrapped up now, he was only going to get an hour sleep or so, before Dean woke up and told them to get ready so they could hit the road. He exhaled a long sigh before rolling on his side, his hazel eyes falling on the two others deeply sleeping. He reached for the nightstand's lamp in between the beds, and clicked on the button to switch it off before repositioning himself on his back.

The last thought that traversed his mind before he fell asleep was how eager Dean would certainly be to leave that motel's room.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **So, here you go! What did you think of this chapter? After the discoveries the trio got out of our little Gabe, I had to give you all something more soothing and, well, fluffy. As you may have noticed on your own, the case that the trio dealt with in Kansas City was kinda unclear, but the reason I did that was to actually focus more on the characters, their interactions, their thoughts, their feelings and all these kind of things. Anyways, I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter :)!**

 **I have to say that I had that idea about the weapon being called the Light and being very, very powerful that it could destroy what is in between the universes long before the show introduced the Darkness. However, since I had to rewrite my story as you all know, I decided to call this thing in between the universes, the Darkness and to work with all the information the show gave us. I find it more interesting like that than in my previous version... Anyways, I just truly hope that I didn't spoil anyone who hasn't seen the tenth season yet. On another hand, I think it wasn't that really spoiler... Well, I really, deeply hope it wasn't...**

 **I was happily surprised by the number of reviews that I got these past few days! Thank you all for your kind, sweet and very flattering words. You guys made me smile like crazy and blush like a real tomato.**

 **To Jess, Shan, Sarah and the two other guests, who found my story a few days ago, and gave it shot before devouring it in a couple of days, here go a thousand thanks from me. I'm sincerely happy that you enjoy my story so far, and hopefully it will stay the same.**

 **And of course thank you to Rubyrose,Erica, BloodVesselandBacks and wolfenergy17, who leave reviews at almost every chapter! Whether they are two-words long or real paragraphs, your loyalty is one of the reason why I keep writing, no matter what.**

 **Now, I have a little announcement to make (I've always wanted to say that, haha!). I have two projects that are coming next month. The first project (and the one that I've already started working on) is rewriting the first volume of this story to publish it again on this website. Don't worry, nothing big will change in it! All there will be is a bit more of description of the scenery and much less mistakes (grammar, typos,…). The second project (and the one that I haven't really started, but had in mind for a some time now) is a little Sam/OC story. It won't be as ambitious as the 'You Better Run' story, but I think you would still like it.**

 **Also, I want you to know that I didn't mean what I made Dean say about Friends, Ally Mcbeal or Doctor Who. I love these shows, just like I enjoyed the show The Nanny, so yeah, all these references were here just for the comic relief.**

 **Before I forget! On the previous chapter, I made Kate say "Merde alors!" and I totally forget to give you a translation… Basically, we say 'merde alors!' is the same than saying 'shit!' when we're frustrated. 'Alors' means 'then' or 'therefore', but when we say it in the context in which Kate was, it's like saying 'shit!' to all of that's happening… I hope I made it clear enough. I apologize if I just made it more confusing for you... I also apologize for teaching you how to curse in French haha**

 **Take great care of you,**

 **Anna.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is based on the episode '** _ **The Real Ghostbusters**_ **' (5x09).**

 **For the beta-reading of this chapter, I wanted to give a shot to a French compatriot who asked me quite a long time ago for doing some beta-reading for my story since she reads it too. Thus,** **Missss Supernatural** **beta-read the 8000 first words and I think that for a Frenchie she did a pretty good job! Nevertheless, I must say that the whole chapter was then beta-read by** **Igotzapped** **. Wishing to make sure that everyone gets credit for their good and fast work, I made sure to write *SPN* so you can all appreciate where** **Missss Supernatural** **'s work starts and ends. As for Igotzapped's work, I think you all understood that she then edited the whole thing before it got posted. Thank you for these two SPN family members for your great job and also for reading this story!**

 **Without further ado, here is the chapter you've been waiting for so long.**

* * *

 ***SPN*  
**

 _ **Two weeks later.**_

 _ **Vermilion, Ohio.**_

Kate's brown eyes were focused on Dean's profile as she was sitting in the middle of the backseat while he drove his car with urgency. His features were hard and concentrated as he tried to get to the location as soon as possible. If she wasn't mistaken, they were getting close now and that only caused her to worry in a way that she hadn't really felt for days now.

It must be said that these past two weeks had been quite calm for the trio. After they left Kansas City, Sam had driven them all up to Bobby's place so that Dean could rest properly. They spent about ten days at the old man's place, mostly researching more than anything else. The first days were spent by Kate putting her full focus on studying her situation from A to Z, in order to check Dean's words about her blood and also make sure that she hadn't missed anything. Meanwhile, Sam helped Bobby with his own research and Dean did everything he could to avoid having to read one book. He did a couple of renovations in the old man's house, before taking care of his beloved car in the background. Doctor Parks had visited Bobby twice, and Kate had been genuinely happy to see a familiar face that wasn't male.

As the days went on, Dean had noticed that Sam wasn't the only one to get up at the crack of dawn to go running around the area. Indeed, the young brunette ran with the younger Winchester every morning. Bobby had explained to Dean that it was Matt who had accustomed the young woman in that kind of training. When Sam and Dean had learned that she did some other work outs in her room, Dean had realized that he needed to step in. For him, the training of a hunter had barely anything to do with going to the gym, doing sit-ups every night, and running like Michael Johnson or Deena Kastor. However, right when Dean was going to show Kate what a real hunter training was, Bobby had assigned them with a case in Tennessee. The case hadn't been too complicated and was wrapped up in three days, even though the two brothers hadn't been really focused on the case; too busy making sure that it wasn't affecting Kate in any way to meet a revenant for the first time. It turned out that, once again, the young woman could handle it all perfectly fine. They all came out of that hunt with only a few bruises here or there, but nothing that required more than an ice pack. As a reward, they had planned on having a chill night watching television in their motel room, when Sam's cell phone had beeped with a text that sent them packing in a rush to get to Vermilion, Ohio.

Kate's hands jumped to grab the back of the front seat as Dean squealed his roaring Impala around the corner into a parking lot and when she glanced out, she spotted the sign indicating her that they finally reached their destination.

 _ **Welcome to The Pineview Hotel.**_

Dean pulled up and the three of them immediately rushed out of the Impala. When Dean ran around the back of his car he stopped, causing Kate to bump into his back. She moved and looked up at him and noticed the confusion on his face before she shifted her gaze to what he was looking at. In front of them was a lineup of identical Impalas.

"Hey! Come on," Sam called them, but only Dean obliged as he followed his brother while Kate tilted her head to the side, looking at the cars and then at Dean's car.

She let out a light scoff, "And he said his car was one of a kind."

When she turned her head and noticed that Sam and Dean were already by the sides of the man that sent that urgent text the previous night, she ran up to them.

"Ah, nothing. You know, I'm just kinda hanging," the bearded prophet was saying as Kate finally stood by Sam's side. "Oh Kate, you're here too. It's good to see you, b-but, what are you guys doing here?"

"You told us to come," Dean replied and Chuck moved his blue eyes away from the brunette wearing a blue flannel and black skinny jeans and staring at him with slight panic painted on her facial features.

"Ah, no I didn't."

"Yeah you did, you texted me," Sam insisted as Kate kept her brown gaze glued to the blue-eyed writer. "This address, life or death situation. Any of this ringing a bell?"

"I didn't send you a text," Chuck shook his head, confused.

"We drove all night!" Dean shouted.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what could... _Oh no_."

"What?" Dean and Kate asked at the same time when a shout came from the top of the stairs

"SAM!" They all looked over to see a blond-woman with a big smile as she squealed, "You made it!"

Kate's eyebrows knit together, not having one single clue of who that young woman was, as she looked back and forth at the blond and at Sam.

When the young grinning blond finished running down the stairs to them and arrived right in front of the younger Winchester, Kate could practically see the sparkles in the woman's green eyes as she looked up at Sam. "Oh, ah… Becky, right?"

Kate's eyes widened as she realized who that young woman in a skirt and knee-high socks was. Dean had teased Sam about it last week before recounting to Kate the whole story of how Becky had come to their motel room and had practically caressed Sam's body until the young man had to pretend coughing louder and louder to get rid of her. The last time Kate saw Chuck, the prophet hadn't given her the name of the fan who baked him cupcakes in exchange of stories about Sam and Dean, but a little birdie told her that this fan and Becky were one and the same.

"Oh, you remembered," Becky told Sam, causing Dean to roll his eyes and Kate to press her lips together to hold in a little laughter. "You've been thinking about me."

"I..." Sam said as he glanced at the young brunette, his eyes silently pleading for help.

"It's okay, I can't get you out of my head either," Becky told him and Kate looked up at Sam to see his cheeks turning red in embarrassment. Kate's body started to shake as she brought one hand up and pinched her nose as she realized that she was soon going to burst into a fit of laughter.

"Becky, wait a minute," Chuck began as Becky looked at the brunette with a little frown of confusion, wondering who she was. "Did you take my phone?"

"I just borrowed it from your pants," Becky replied, turning her face to look at him.

"Becky..." Chuck sighed, shaking his head.

"What? They're going to want to see it!"

"See what?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time.

"Oh My God. I love it when they talk at the same time!" Becky exclaimed with excitement and Kate couldn't help the snort that escaped her lips before she started laughing. Becky glared at her and the two brothers looked at Kate with the annoyed expression that was so theirs.

"I'm sorry," Kate blurted out before taking a deep breath through her nostrils. "I apologize. I didn't mean to laugh."

"And you are?" Becky asked her, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Um, Kate," she replied with a gentle smile, pulling her hand out. Becky looked down at her hand and then back up to her face before a plump man in a yellow shirt appeared at the top of the stairs with a clipboard.

"Hey Chuck? Come on pal, it's showtime," the man called, causing Becky to jump before excitedly running up the stairs.

"Guys. I'm sorry. For everything," Chuck told them as he looked at Sam and Dean with an apologetic face before glancing at Kate and then going up the stairs.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, completely confused before they decided to follow him up the stairs. Sam was stopped by Kate grabbing his forearm. The young man looked down at her and she gave him an amused smile.

"She is real," she whispered, referring to Becky and Sam rolled his eyes before trying to walk away, but she pulled his arm preventing him from moving. "You want me to book you two a room?"

"You're worse than Dean," Sam told her as he took her hand off his arm and went up the stairs where Becky was staring at them with what could be easily interpreted as a glare destined for Kate mostly.

"Oh come on, I'm only joking," Kate called after him as he easily caught up with his brother at the top of the stairs. Her brown eyes shifted to Becky, who was still glaring at her with her arms crossed over her chest. Kate looked away and quickly made her way up to the open door through which Sam and Dean had just walked in.

Once in the reception hall, they didn't have time to truly scan the area when a tubby man in a brown leather jacket and a stein of beer in one hand walked past them, laughing as he addressed the older brother.

"Hey Dean, looking good."

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked, wondering how that stranger knew his name.

The man turned back to him and Sam, Dean and Kate noticed that he was wearing pretty much the same clothes as Dean.

"I'm Dean too. Duh," he replied and Kate noticed that around his neck, was hanging the same amulet that she used to see Dean wearing before Castiel borrowed it from him.

Utterly puzzled, Dean turned around to look at Sam before he noticed something over his brother's shoulder that caused him to widen his green orbs. Sam spun around and did the same when his eyes landed on the man disguised in the scarecrow who walked past them.

"Uh oh. It's Sam and Dean. I'm in trouble now," the guy in the costume laughed and Kate's lips curved into a tiny amused smile.

However, the young brown-haired woman was still a bit confused as to what was happening here so she looked around as the scarecrow told Sam and Dean to have fun before walking away. The room was filled with people dressed as monsters and when she spotted a tall skinny woman dressed as Bobby, her eyes went slightly round. But, it wasn't until she spotted along the opposite wall, tables of merchandise with the Impala on coffee cups and posters of the 'Supernatural' books covers, that her eyes got wide.

"Oh," she whispered as she finally understood what was happening.

"Becky. What is this?" Sam asked, his eyes watching the whole room with the same nearly scared expression than his brother.

"It's awesome!" Becky exclaimed in reply as the two brothers turned around to look at her. "A Supernatural convention, the first ever."

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

It didn't take long for the crowd of fans dressed in different costumes, from hunters to demons and monsters, to gather in the hotel auditorium when the plump man in a yellow shirt who happened to be the manager of the convention told them to go. Kate had the twitch of a smile on her lips as she watched all these people going to take their seats facing a little stage in the auditorium. The genuine excitement that all these fans shared warmed her heart as it reminded her of the beautiful simplicity that life could own, even in a universe like this one.

"This is stupid," Dean mumbled as he walked into the auditorium right behind Kate who was following his little brother.

Kate turned her head to look up at him, "Shouldn't you be flattered?"

Dean scoffed as the brunette followed Sam to stand at the back of the auditorium while Becky was trying to get all the fans to sit down on their seats and to not steal the upfront seats reserved by other fans.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Dean asked Sam who clenched his jaw. Kate glanced up at the taller man and realized that the teasing was maybe starting to really get on his nerves.

"Leave him alone, Dean," Kate spoke as she turned her face to look at the older Winchester since she was standing in between the two of them. Dean's green eyes looked right into her brown eyes and when she gave him a warning look he rolled his eyes.

"Alright," Dean replied, shifting his gaze to the crowd. "But, seriously why the hell do they dress up like us or like monsters?"

"Well, they've read the books, they've loved them and that's their way of showing it while having fun," Kate explained with a shrug as she looked at the few people disguised as Bobby and wondered what the old man would say if he could see that.

Dean looked down at her, his green eyes scanning her outfit, "Is that why you're wearing flannels lately?"

"What?" Kate asked, turning her head to look up at him with confusion. Sam watched their interaction in silence, realizing that Dean was right. Ever since Kate was back with them, she seemed to be wearing more flannels than before. She was even wearing the same kind of brown boots than him and Dean.

"Well, you've read Chuck's books too, and ever since you're back with us, you're wearing a hell lot of flannels," Dean accused her.

"What? No, I'm not wearing this because you guys are," she replied, shaking her head.

"So, you didn't love Chuck's books about us, then?" Sam asked deadpan, causing Kate to whip her head at him.

"What, no-"

"You hate our characters or something?" Dean continued his brother's teasing as Kate turned her head towards him.

"You're messing with me, aren't you?" She accused and Dean gave her a large grin, causing her to roll her eyes and fold her arms on her chest before looking over at the crowd. "You are _not_ funny. Neither of you."

Sam lightly chuckled, amused by her reaction, "Well, in my defence, I wasn't really trying to be funny at first."

"What, you really think that I'm trying to dress up like you two?" Kate frowned up at Sam who simply shrugged in reply. "Remember when I got back from Heaven in only a white dress? Well, when you called Matt to get me, he went to a shop to get me some decent clothes. And it happened that there was a discount on flannels, so he bought like a dozen of them! That's it."

"So, it's nothing crazy like Sam's girlfriend?" Dean asked and Sam glared at his brother.

"It's nothing crazy, and these people here are not crazy either, Dean," Kate told him as she waved at the crowd of people. "It's called passion."

After a short moment of silence between the trio, Sam looked down at her, "Did you… Did you ever go to a convention back in your universe?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I did," she replied, her gaze glued to the stage at the other end of the room.

"Oh no," Dean let out as he stared at her in disbelief. " _Really_ , Kaitlin?"

"Yeah," Kate replied before looking up at him. "It was only one convention, but it was one hell of a convention."

Dean was going to say something to her when his green orbs noticed Becky walking happily towards them, "And here comes Sam's girlfriend."

Kate slapped his chest with the back of her hand and Sam proudly sniggered at Kate taking his defence now, instead of allying with Dean to tease him.

Once Becky was standing right in front of Sam, she asked with a huge smile, "Are you ready?"

"Oh yes, we've just been dying here," Dean replied sarcastically, but Becky didn't even throw a glance at him as she had her eyes glued to his little brother who started to feel uncomfortable with the way she kept on ogling at him.

"Welcome to the first annual 'Supernatural' convention," the manager of the convention spoke into the mic, causing everyone in the room to be silent and Becky spin around before taking one step back so she could stand next to Sam. "At 3:45 in the Magnolia room we have the panel, 'Frightened little boy, the secret life of Dean'. And at 4:30 there's the 'Homoerotic subtext of Supernatural.'"

Kate's eyes went wider than ever at the manager's words, Dean's eyebrows reached his hairline at that and Sam simply furrowed his brow in confusion.

Having read the 'Supernatural' books, Kate wondered if she was the only one who didn't spot any homoerotic subtext in there. Sure, the fact that she knew Sam and Dean personally could have influenced her reading into blurring the passages of homoerotism. However, she couldn't help but wonder if the other readers hadn't simply taken the gay jokes for more than what they were. At the end of the day, she fairly believed that Sam had the best explanation for this: every interpretation is different from one person to another.

"Oh, and of course the big hunt starts at 7pm sharp," the manager announced, causing the fans to cheer as a round of applause appeared in the room except from the trio standing by Becky's side.

"Awesome!" Becky exclaimed as Kate glanced at her and couldn't help the little smile that grew on her lips. The blond-haired woman looked fairly nice and genuinely happy, and it reminded Kate of how excited she was when she went to her first convention back in her universe.

"But right now, right now I'd like to introduce the man himself," the manager said, causing Kate to return her attention to the stage. "The creator, the writer of the supernatural books. The one, the only, Carver Edlund!"

A massive amounts of cheering and applause broke out as Chuck shyly walked onto the stage. Kate started to clap her hands causing both Sam and Dean to look down at her with dumbfounded expressions.

"What?" Kate asked them and they gave her a pointed look. "It's Chuck!" She said in defence and Sam simply sighed while Dean put one of his large hand on top of her two hands to stop her from clapping. "Oh c'mon," she whined as Dean lowered her hands and turned his head back to the stage to look at the prophet with the same expression on his face than Sam; absolutely stone-faced.

"Okay. Okay good, this isn't nearly as awkward as I…" Chuck trailed off before clearing his throat. "Dry mouth." He looked around and spotted a few bottles of water just a couple of feet away from him. He took one, returned in front of the mic and took very long gulps from the bottle until he drank half of it, and Kate couldn't help but feel bad for how nervous he looked. "Okay. Uh... ahem. So I guess... questions?" Every hand in the room shot up, except from the four standing in the back of the room. "Uh... you?"

A tall and thin man immediately leaped up, wearing clothing that looked very similar to Sam, "Hey, Mr Edlund. Uh...big fan. I was just wondering, where'd you come up with Sam and Dean in the first place?"

This question made Chuck glance at Sam and Dean who were standing there, their eyes fixing on him as they cocked their heads showing their true interest in the answer the prophet was going to give to his fan.

"Oh, ah, I...it just came to me," Chuck nervously replied before the hands shot up again. "Okay. Yeah. Um, the hook man."

A man in a long black coat and wearing a black hat on top of his long black hair stood up, "Ah yah. Vhy in every fight scene, Sam and Dean are having zeir gun knocked away by ze bad guy? Vhy don't zey keep it on some kind of bungee?" He said with a heavy German accent.

"He's got a point," Kate commented in a little voice but loud enough for the two brothers to hear her as they glanced down at her.

"I... yeah, I really don't know," Chuck stuttered.

"Yah, follow up. Vhy can't Sam and Dean be telling zat Ruby is evil? I mean she is clearly manipulating Sam into some kind of moral lapse. It's obvious, _nein_?"

This question caused Kate to feel uncomfortable as she dropped her gaze down while Sam felt pissed and avoided his big brother's eyes as this latter looked at him. Ruby remained a sensitive topic for both Sam and Kate, since they both had trusted the demon. It couldn't be denied that Ruby had been helpful on several occasions, but she had still manipulated Sam into betraying his brother and freeing Lucifer out of his Cage. At the end of the day, the demon had brought consequences that all of them were still trying to deal with and even to overcome.

"Hey!" Becky shouted suddenly as she walked down the row of seats. "If you don't like the books don't read'em, Fritz!"

"Okay, Okay, just… Okay, it's okay. So, next question," Chuck said, trying to calm down Becky. The hands shot up again, as though nothing had happened. "Yeah, you."

"Yeah, at the end of the last book, Dean goes to hell. So, what happens next?" A young man asked with eagerness.

"Oh. Well there lies an announcement, actually. You're all going to find out," Chuck replied, his blue eyes looking up at Sam and Dean who were eyeing him suspiciously, before his gaze shifted to the brunette standing between them with a gentle and casual look. Thinking that she would defend him like she always defended everyone, he decided to announce something he knew the Winchester brothers were going to be mad at him for. "Thanks to a wealthy Scandinavian investor, we're going to start publishing again."

The whole room erupted with cheers as people jumped up from their seats and applauded the writer with big grins of joy and excitement on their faces. However, Sam and Dean exchanged a look of unhappiness as Kate looked back and forth at them, understanding that they were far from feeling the same as the fans of their journey.

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

Kate quietly followed Sam and Dean as they walked into the reception hall, looking for Chuck to give him a piece of their mind about him publishing new books. The young woman didn't dare to say a word about this, seeing as they looked truly pissed with Chuck's news. Truth be told, whenever it came to these books, she preferred to keep a low profile. She didn't mention the 'Supernatural' books, and in exchange, Sam and Dean didn't mention the manuscripts about her. It prevented any bad or awkward atmosphere to cloud upon them, and it was mainly Sam who made sure of that. Although it helped them all to feel less guilty about reading each other's life without the consent of the other, it didn't wash away all the melancholic and concern that these writings brought in all of them. Unfortunately for Kate, she was still filled with a lot of guilt since she had yet to admit to them reading their father's journal on their backs.

When Sam and Dean spotted Chuck sitting next to Becky with two yellow cocktails on their table, they took firm large steps towards them and Kate had to hurry up to keep up with them.

"Oh hi Sam!" Becky exclaimed with a huge smile as Sam gave her a little polite smile.

"Excuse us," Dean said to the blond woman before turning his pissed off eyes to Chuck. "In case you haven't noticed, our plates are kinda full, okay? Finding the Colt, hunting the Devil, sending Kate back. We don't have time for this crap!"

Kate looked at Dean, quite taken aback by his words, but she tried not to overthink now, as Chuck exclaimed his reply.

"Hey, I didn't call you!"

As Kate moved her gaze away from Dean, she saw Becky giving Sam some hither looks and when she looked over at Sam, she felt bad for him as he looked very uneasy while trying not to notice the looks Becky was sending his way.

"He means the books, Chuck," Sam elaborated, his hazel eyes fixed on the writer. "Why are you publishing more books?"

"Um... for food and shelter?" Chuck replied, causing Dean to lean over his chair in a threatening way.

"Who gave you the rights to our life story?" Dean glared at him.

"An Archangel, and I didn't want it! Ask Kate!" Chuck said and Kate's eyebrows rose as she wondered why he would mix her in all of this. "She knows how much I hate those visions!"

"Well, deal's off, okay? No more books. Our lives are not for…" Sam told him, glancing at Becky who kept her eyes on him, "Public consumption."

"Ah… Becky," Chuck began, politely. "Would you excuse us for just a second?"

"Uh-huh!" She nodded.

Chuck stood up and led the trio to a walk up to a hallway. As they walked, Kate couldn't help but glance at Dean and wonder if sending her back to her universe really was in his to-do list. She knew that it was stupid to ask herself this, but after what he had admitted to her when he was half-out that night back in Kansas City, she thought this question was fair enough.

" _I don't… I don't want you to go…"_

Could it be that he didn't mean the words that escaped his mouth that night? Could it be that he meant them, but wasn't talking about _her_?

Kate couldn't explain why, but she felt a pang of sadness at that last thought.

Nevertheless, she couldn't focus on that as she felt Sam gently pushing on her back to get her to walk into that hallway free of crowd. She glanced up at him, still a bit lost in herself, before she continued following the prophet.

It wasn't long before this latter stopped walking and turned around, his blue eyes looking at them, as he asked, "Do you guys know what I do for a living?"

"Yeah Chuck, we know," Sam replied.

"Then could you tell me? 'Cause I don't, alright? I'm not a good writer. I've got no marketable skills. I'm not some hero who can just hit the road and fight monsters, okay? Until the world ends, I gotta live, alright? And the 'Supernatural' books are all I've got. What else do you want me to do?" He told them, his eyes more focused on the two brothers than on the brunette who looked at him with sympathy.

A scream from upstairs caused Sam and Dean to immediately take off towards the sound. Within a second they were out of sight as Chuck called after them "No, guys... wait!" When Kate started to go after them, his words stopped her, "It's not a real scream!"

"What?" She spun around to look at him.

"It's a game," he sighed, waving his hands in the air.

"Did the LARPing start?" Becky's excited voice appeared as she walked into the hallway.

"Um, yeah, upstairs," Chuck told her and she quickly ran in the same direction Sam and Dean went to.

"LARPing?" Kate inquired, her brown eyes looking at Chuck with confusion.

"Live Action Role Playing," Chuck explained and she slowly nodded.

A short silence settled between them, before he motioned for her hair and complimented, "You look good with this new haircut." She looked at him with raised eyebrows and he swallowed down with nervousness, "I mean, long hair was a good style on you too, but short hair isn't bad either. Actually, it's not that short, it's rather shoulder length, but it still, um, it still-"

"I got it," Kate interrupted him a light chuckle left her lips. Her brown eyes roamed over the bearded man's face, and her lips stretched in a bigger smile. She always found it pretty cute how nervous he could be for about anything. "Come on," she friendly grabbed him by the arm. "I'm thirsty and you're buying me a drink."

"Oh alright," he replied as they walked back towards the reception hall where the hotel's bar was situated.

* * *

Sitting at the bar, Chuck watched the young brunette as she gave a funny look at the yellow cocktail he had ordered for himself while she had opted for a beer.

"Yellow-eye cocktail? _Really_?" She told him.

"I didn't come up with the name," he responded, causing her to lightly shake her head before taking a long sip of her fresh beer. "So, you think they're gonna kill me for publishing the new books?"

"Probably gonna try," she replied frankly. "But, certainly won't be able to. I mean you still got an archangel protecting you," she told him before a thoughtful look appeared on her face. "Wait. How come your archangel still hasn't shown up?"

"Maybe, it's like that time you passed by at my place?" He suggested.

"Or the angels are planning on attacking us in surprise later."

"I don't think so. They still want you and Dean to say 'yes', it wouldn't be clever to attack you."

"Mmh, someone knows something I don't know," Kate squinted her eyes at him.

"What? No, no… You know I would tell you if I had a vision of that kind," he told her.

"Speaking about visions, how come you didn't see us coming?" She asked, before taking another sip of her beer.

"Well, my visions are kinda delayed lately… It may be due to my new lifestyle," he finished more for himself than for her, but she still heard him.

"What do you mean? What new lifestyle are you talking about?"

"Well," Chuck began as Kate urged him with her eyes. "Becky and I are getting pretty closer these past few weeks."

"So Becky is that fan who cleans your place and cooks you yummy food in exchange for new stories about Sam and Dean as in Sam _and_ Dean?"

"Yeah," Chuck nodded before taking a long sip of his cocktail. "So, um, you're gonna protect me from Sam and Dean, right?"

"Well, those books are still your sole livelihood," Kate gave him a little smile. "Just in respect to them, try not to be too explicit in some passages."

"Well, that kinda sells a lot to have a few scenes like that," he muttered and Kate gave him a pointed look that made him quickly continue. "But, I won't write them. Not anymore."

"Good," she declared, before looking down at her beer and sighing as her previous thoughts reappeared at the back of her head. Why were Dean's words even bothering her? After all, it was true that her trip back to her universe was one of the things they all had on their plate along with stopping the Apocalypse and so much other crap.

"So, um, how is your hunter life going?" Chuck asked, as he noticed the thoughtful and almost sad expression on her face.

"You know I'm not a hunter, Chuck," Kate whispered in reply as she looked up at him.

"Well, you hunt, so you're a hunter… I mean that's how it works, isn't it?" Chuck told her before a man approached them and asked if the writer could follow him for something concerning the convention.

Chuck excused himself to Kate before leaving her with her thoughts. What Dean had said earlier, wasn't what was on her mind anymore. Now, Chuck's words were the ones echoing in her head. She didn't consider herself as a hunter and she didn't want to be a hunter. All she wanted to be was helpful. That was what she wanted to be for this universe, until she made it back to her universe. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe the reason why Dean took a look at these books about parallel universes and listened to Pamela's latest recordings when he was ill, was because he was trying to speed up her departure. After all, the man did find out a way to overcome the problem of her landing in the wrong universe. Sure, his babbling about her blood being the thing that could insure her return to the right universe at the right era without Chronos' help, hadn't been really clear. But, when Kate had dug into her researches at Bobby's, she had found out a few things that she still couldn't believe she hadn't realized the first time.

" _You found something?"_ Bobby had asked her when a gasp of surprise had come out of her mouth. From the couch where she was sitting, she had looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with what she had just understood after days of re-reading all her notes, some of the books and listening again to all of Pamela's recordings.

A loud laugh roughly pulled Kate out of her thoughts, she straightened up on her stool, her eyes landing on the yellow cocktail Chuck left on the bar counter. She looked at it for a moment before sliding it next to her beer. She took it, examined it a bit with her eyes before bringing it up to her lips. She drank a little sip and grimaced at the weird taste and shuddered her body until she was slightly startled by Sam dropping himself on the stool at her right.

She looked at him as his face showed how much he was already fed up by this whole convention thing, and when Dean sat on a stool two seats away from them, she saw the same expression on his freckled face as he ordered a shot of strong whisky and two beers; one for himself and one for his brother.

"How was LARPing?" Kate still asked them, her tone casual.

"You know about this?" Dean asked, his green eyes looking over at her.

"Chuck told me when you ran off to save the inexistent damsel in distress," she replied as the bartender brought the two beers and served Dean his shot. Sam grabbed his bottle and immediately took a long sip, causing Kate to put her hand on his back and give him a friendly rub.

He looked up at her and she gave him a kind smile to which he naturally replied before his hazel eyes went to the yellow drink, "Yours?"

"No, it was Chuck's," she told him. "And, it's disgusting."

He couldn't help his little scoff, before he noticed her attention had already drifted away for his brother. He furrowed his brows and then followed her gaze to see Dean staring at another brown-haired woman in a costume as she clicked away on her phone. Dean's smirk as he kept his eyes glued to the other brunette, made Kate look down at the beer in between her fingers. Sam returned his gaze to his friend, not knowing what to say to her as he saw the thoughtful expression on her profile, when his big brother's voice came up.

"How you doing?"

"Busy," the woman snapped and Kate looked up, pretty surprised by the woman's answer until she realized it was because she had her eye still glued on her phone.

"Well, you sure look lovely tonight. Especially for a dead chick," Dean flirted, unleashing an unexplainable stir of jealousy inside of Kate that she hurriedly ignored since it didn't make any sense for her.

"Buddy, I have heard that line seventeen times tonight, okay? And, all from dudes wearing MacGyver jackets," the woman replied before looking up and noticing that it was a confident and good-looking man who was talking to her. "But, you seem different."

"How so?"

"Well, you don't seem scared of women," she replied, causing another smirk to appear on his lips.

"He should," Kate muttered to herself, but Sam heard her and chuckled at this.

"Hey, Josh's asking for you," the bartender said to the disguised woman as he approached them.

"Come on, this is my break," she sighed heavily, but the bartender just shrugged in reply. "Ugh. Alright," she stood up without even excusing herself to Dean as she left.

"Can this be called a stood-up?" Sam asked in a mocking tone, causing Dean to roll his eyes and then turn to give him an annoyed look.

"You should ask your girlfriend once she's done dressing up like you," Dean told him in return.

"Even for you that's a lame comeback, Dean," Sam remarked.

"Besides, she may be a Sam girl and still wanna dress like someone else," Kate chimed in.

"Good point," Sam simply stated before bringing his bottle up to his mouth.

As Kate moved her brown eyes over to Dean, she immediately met his gaze already staring at her. "What?"

"I'm just thinking... You've read the books, too-"

"Oh no, here we go again," Kate sighed.

"No, no, no," Dean interrupted her. "I'm just wonderin'... You're a Sam girl or a Dean girl?"

"What?" The brunette asked, genuinely surprised by his question. However, when two guys dressed up as Sam and Dean walked in, talking animatedly, the trio's conversation came to an end.

"For the last time I'm not making this up, ok? She's upstairs, a real live dead ghost," the one bleeding from his ear said to his friend.

Intrigued, Sam and Dean stood up and headed towards the two guys, Kate quickly following behind.

"I'm sure it was just one of the ghost actors."

"Who beat the hell out of me and then vanished?"

"You saw something?" Sam asked the young man bleeding.

"This isn't part of the game jerk," he replied to Sam before turning to his friend. "Look, I'm getting out of here and you should do the same."

"Alex, wait. Hey, come back!" His friend called after him before following him to one of the doors.

"What do you think?" Sam asked in a sigh.

"I don't think that guy's a good enough an actor to be acting," Dean commented.

"You think the place really is haunted?" Kate asked, looking up at Sam who gave her a look that was enough for her to understand that this convention was going to be much more interesting and dangerous than originally planned by Chuck.

* * *

 _ **A short moment later.**_

Sam, Dean and Kate didn't think twice before deciding to investigate the place. If there was a ghost here, they had to take it down before it did any harm to all of the people in the hotel. Even if Dean wouldn't mind seeing half of these people getting hurt a little bit so they could understand that ghost and monsters aren't as fun as what they thought; saying this out loud had earned him a slap on the chest from Kate.

"Excuse us, mind if we ask you a few questions?" Dean asked as Sam and Kate, and himself stopped in front of the main desk where the hotel manager rolled his eyes as he sighed in exasperation.

"Look, I don't have time to play _Star Wars_ guys. Go ask the guy in the ascot," he told them.

Dean looked at Kate and then at Sam before pulling out his wallet. "Actually we ah... really want to talk to you," he said as he slid a fifty dollar bill on the desk.

"Okay," the manager replied as he took the money and Kate rolled her eyes at the easiness of corrupting people with money. "You guys are really into this."

"You have no idea," Sam replied with a fake smile.

"What do you want to know?"

"All this stuff they're saying. This place being haunted. Leticia Gore. Any truth to it?"

"We generally don't like to publicise this to... normal people... but yeah. 1909 this place was called 'Gore Orphanage'. Miss Gore, killed four boys with a butchers knife, then offed herself."

"Oh God," Kate let out.

"Terrifying right?" The manager told her as he cocked his eyebrows up.

"And is tonight really the anniversary of when she killed the kids?" Dean asked.

"Yep. Guess your convention folks want authenticity," he commented in reply.

"There been any sightings?" Sam inquired.

"Yep, over the years. A few maids have quit saying they heard the boys or saw them. A janitor even saw Miss Gore once."

"Where did Miss Gore carve up the kids?" Dean asked.

"Look, I don't want you stomping all over the joint. A lot of this place is off limits to nerds," the manager reported and Kate couldn't help but frown at him before Dean slid another fifty dollar bill that the man immediately took with a little smile. "The attic."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look before the hotel manager was called by one of his colleague and he excused himself as he left.

"Alright, Sam and I are gonna make a little trip to the car to bring all we need, and you go back to the bar and stay there until we've made sure to-"

"What?" Kate cut Dean off. "No, I'm coming with."

"Kaitlin," Dean started in a warning voice, his eyes looking at her sternly.

"Dean," she said in the same tone as she stared up at him.

"Okay," Sam sighed. "You know what? You two stay here and I'll go to the car. Dean, give me the keys."

"Sammy-" Dean began before stopping himself when he saw the pointed look his little brother was giving him.

Dean knew that he shouldn't be doing that to Kate, but he couldn't help himself. For him, the less he gave her to do in a hunt, the safer she could only be. It was still very hard for him to accept that the young woman was taking full part in the hunts even though she had proved her efficiency on more than one occasion. He was very well aware that it would still take a lot of time for him to accept on seeing her holding weapons in her innocent arms. The image of her holding up that shotgun with salt when they hunted that revenant just a day ago, was still burning in the back of his head.

"Dean," Sam sternly said, pulling Dean out of his little reverie.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean groaned as he fished out his keys from his leather jacket's pocket and handed them to him.

Sam didn't say anything as he ran off to the door, leaving Dean to watch him go with Kate standing behind him.

"So, I suggest that I stay around here and you go upstairs to stay with the LARPing group," Kate commanded, causing Dean to turn around to look at her. "Then, when Sam is back with everything, we should check the whole place before going all together to the attic," she continued before he quirked his eyebrows at her. "What?"

"I've always known that you were bossy," Dean remarked, his voice holding a teasing tone that made Kate's eyes slightly roll. "But, why don't you go upstairs and I stay around here, huh?"

"Because I don't want to climb the stairs," Kate replied as though stating the obvious.

"Of course, you go running every morning with Sam, but climbing the stairs is too much," Dean commented.

"You got it," she smiled up at him before walking around him to go check the other hallways, when Dean stopped her by calling her name. "What?"

"You never said," he started, a smirk forming on his lips. "So, you're a Sam girl or a Dean girl?"

"Just go upstairs, Dean," she simply replied, before spinning around again, her cheeks burning hot as she walked up to a doorway.

* * *

 _ **An hour and a half later.**_

When Sam had returned, he had met Kate and Dean at the main staircase, before they all split up so they could cover more ground. Kate remained on the first floor, where most of the fans were, Sam was on the second floor and Dean on the third one. It didn't take very long for Kate to finish checking the first floor with the EMF detector that Sam gave to her, and unfortunately – or rather fortunately – she didn't find any trace of ghosts there. As she waited for the two brothers to get back downstairs, she began to wander around and to take interest in the stands full of fun t-shirts, mugs and other items.

"You really did that yourself?" Kate asked, as she looked at the tiny objects displaying on the table of one little stand. There were different kinds of items, but what amazed Kate the most, were these homemade key-chains with tiny Impalas, tiny knives, or tiny books on which devil traps were meticulously drawn;

"Yeah, it took me a while at first, but I think it came out pretty alright," the ginger woman dressed up with a t-shirt on which Sam and Dean were drawn, replied.

"Pretty alright?" Kate scoffed, her brown eyes fixed at the tiny objects. "They're amazing…" She softly murmured, but the woman heard her.

"Thanks," she blushed before looking up and down at Kate and stating with a friendly smile, "Let me guess, you're a Sam girl, right?"

"W-what makes you say that?" Kate asked, looking up at her.

"Well, you're kinda dressed like Sam and Dean, but you have that wave of a Sam girl," she explained and Kate couldn't help the amused expression that stretched on her face.

"Katie!" Sam's voice called, making the brunette turn her head and spot her very tall friend walking up to her.

Kate quickly turned her head back to the woman, "I'll take the bundle of five."

"Alright," the woman grinned as Kate pulled out two bills of twenty bucks out of her pocket and handed them to her while the woman gave her a tiny black plastic bag in which the bundle of five different key-chains were. "Wait, there's too much money."

"Keep the change," the brunette simply replied, before adding in a mutter, "It's not even my money."

"What?" The woman frowned, not sure if she heard her right as Kate just turned around, and quickly made her way up to Sam.

"So, no ghost on the first floor," she informed Sam once she was standing in front of him.

"Yeah, well, Dean and I found one in the attic," he replied, causing her to frown.

"What? I thought we were supposed to do the attic and the cellar all together," Kate said, sounding slightly offended before she continued. "Anyways. So, you found Letitia Gore?"

"No. We found one of the boys… And, I really think, you were lucky not to see in what condition he was," he responded.

"It was that terrible?" She asked, and he made an expression that answered better than any word. "Alright… Um, so I suppose we should do some research?"

"Yeah," he nodded, his eyes falling down to the tiny black bag she was carrying in one hand. "What's that?"

She followed his gaze, "Oh. That's… Nothing." Sam gave her an unconvinced look, so she swiftly changed the topic, "Anyways, where's Dean?"

"In the cellar," he replied, causing Kate to give him a disbelief look, to which he shrugged and winced at.

"Nevermind," Kate sighed. "You should join him and I'll start the research."

"You're sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"Just go."

"We'll be right back," he told her, gently tapping her shoulder before walking away.

Feeling eyes on her, the brunette looked around and within a couple of seconds she crossed Becky's eyes from afar in the room. Kate rose her hand, ready to wave at her, but the glare the blond-haired woman was sending her way was so intimidating that the brunette changed her mind.

 ***SPN***

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Kate was pacing back and forth in the hallway, speaking on the phone when Sam approached her, nodding at her before she held one finger up and started to talk once more with her interlocutor. Sam put his hands on his hips as he watched Kate nodding her head at whatever she was being told. When the young hunter shifted his eyes in hope of spotting his brother, he noticed Becky watching him so he nodded at her and she smiled in return. The blond then licked straight up the middle of her palm and blew it at him. Concerned and slightly disgusted, Sam only succeeded at half waving at her and when she winked back at him while licking her lips seductively, he abruptly stepped closer to Kate as though seeking for some kind of protection from her. The brunette looked up at Sam as she hung up.

"You're okay?" She asked him, confused.

The expression on Becky's face made Sam realize that staying close to Kate could prevent him from being assaulted by the blond-haired woman who was so passionate about him. Indeed, she was no longer ogling at him in a gross-out way, too busy glaring at Kate with all her might.

"Sam?" Kate inquired and he looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he quickly replied. "So who was that on the phone?"

"A guy with the County Historical Society," she told him as she slipped her phone back in her jeans' front pocket. "Apparently, not only did Leticia Gore butcher four boys, but one of them was her own son."

"Hey!" Dean exclaimed as he approached them. "Got anything?"

"Yeah, I was telling Sam that one of the four boys Leticia Gore killed was her own son," she replied and Dean was a bit taken aback by that information. "Yeah, that's terrible, I know. But it gets worse. According to the police at the time, she scalped the poor kid."

"Oh that's it, I'm gonna deep fry this bitch extra crispy. Dude say where she was buried?" Dean asked, his green eyes attentively watching Kate's face.

"He doesn't know," Kate shook her head when they began to overhear the conversation at a table a few feet away from them. The trio turned their heads to the two men dressed as Sam and Dean.

"Check it out. There's the orphanage, here's the carriage house, and right there... cemetery," the man dressed as Sam declared.

"You think that's where Leticia's planted?" The one dressed as Dean asked while Sam, Dean and Kate approached them and noticed that a peculiar map was laying on the table the duo was sitting at.

"It's worth a shot," his friend replied when Sam reached out to touch the map, causing the two guys to leap up. "Hey, hey!"

"Hey, do you mind?" The one dressed like Dean sarcastically said as he grabbed the map away from Sam.

"It's real. A century old, at least, and he's right, there is a cemetery on the grounds," Sam told Dean and Kate; the latter one pretty surprised that he could collect this kind of information by the simple two-second long touch of the document.

"Where'd you get that?" Dean asked the two fans.

"It's called a game pal. It ain't called charity."

Dean sighed, "Yeah right. Gimme the map, Chuckles."

"Yeah well you're the Chuckles, Chuckles. Besides, Dean don't listen to nobody," fake Dean replied as he pulled back his jacket to reveal a plastic gun which only got Dean to roll his eyes.

"Dean! Cool it," fake Sam told his friend, causing Dean to get even more annoyed by the two fans, to the point where he decided to pull out his own, real gun.

Immediately seeing Dean's movement, Kate hissed at him, her hands jumping on his forearms to stop him, "Dean!"

"What?!" He exclaimed as he looked at her. "They're freakin' annoying." She gave him a pointed look and he sighed before putting his gun back at its place as she put her hands away.

"Look, guys," Sam told the duo. "We all wanna find the bones right? We just thought...it would go faster if we all worked together."

"We... Ah... We get the sizzler gift card."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Fine."

"And we get to be Sam and Dean," fake Dean added and Sam and Dean exchanged looks, before Dean gave his reluctant answer.

"Fine."

"And, who you wanna be?" Fake Dean asked Kate whose eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Um, me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Um, it doesn't matter," she replied with a shrug.

"It _does_ matter," fake Sam insisted and she looked up at him, understanding that she now didn't have any choice.

"Well, I, uh, could be a new character?" She suggested.

The two fans looked at her for a moment before giving an unequivocal answer in sync, "No."

"You could be Jo if you were blonde," fake Dean said to her and she pressed her lips together, not sure of what to think nor say about that. "But, I guess Ellen will fit you better. And you two will be Bobby and Rufus."

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

 _ **Outside the Pineview Hotel.**_

After their little trip to the car so they could gather in a bag what they would need for the digging in the graveyard, Sam, Dean and Kate followed the duo disguised as Sam and Dean, in direction of the said graveyard. The sun had set just a few minutes ago, and if it weren't for the few lights settled around the hotel, they would be walking in complete blackness. Not that any of them were afraid of the dark. But, somehow the lack of bright light put Kate in struggle with the zipper of her hoodie she had grabbed in the backseat before they locked the Impala.

"Ugh," Kate groaned for the third time, pulling at Dean's attention.

"What's going on, Cherry?" He asked, turning his head to look at her since she was behind him and his brother while they followed the two other guys. He switched on his flashlight and directed its light to her hands at the hem of her hoodie.

"Perfect!" Kate exclaimed, now that she could see properly her zipper. But, Dean didn't keep the light directed on the hem of her hoodie as he travelled it up to her chest. "Hey!" She whisper-shouted at him, her brown eyes shifting up to him with a slight scorn look.

"Sorry, couldn't help it," he apologized, an amused smile twitching the corners of his mouth as he directed the light back to the hem of her hoodie. Her fingers quickly pulled up the zipper until it reached under the gap between her collarbones. When she looked up at him, she questioned his expression with her eyes. "It's just that I'm used of watching girls undressing, not the other way around."

"Well, I hope you still enjoyed that show," she replied as he switched off the flashlight without breaking the eye contact with her.

"Oh, that I did," he smirked at her and her eyebrows slightly knit together at him, when the guy dressed like Dean, called them.

"Hey, Bobby, Ellen, would you hurry it up?"

Dean clenched his jaw while Kate simply sighed before they both went to catch up with Sam who had just spun around to look at them.

"Are you all right?" He asked the young woman who simply nodded in answer before Dean approached them and they all went back to walking behind the two big fans. "Dean?" Sam asked as he noticed the way his big brother was staring at the backs of the two ahead of them. "You're okay?"

"I'm trying to be," Dean grumpily replied, not stopping the holes he was digging with his gaze on the two guys in front of them.

"So where were we?" The one dressed as Sam asked his friend.

"Ah, Doctor Ellicott and just zapped your brain," the one cosplaying Dean responded.

"Right, got it," his friend remarked before clearing his throat so his voice could be more grave. "Why are we even here Dean? You just following dad's footsteps like a good little soldier? You that desperate for approval?"

"This isn't you talking Sam," Fake-Dean replied, making his voice sounding as deep as his friend.

The trio behind them, stopped in track. Sam and Dean exchanged a look while Kate simply stared at the two fans who kept walking. Although, she had already been to a similar kind of convention, she had never seen anyone reacting scenes and definitely not out of the blue while doing something that had nearly nothing to do with the scene they chose to react.

"See that's the difference between you and me. I got a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic," Fake-Sam stated as the trio slowly, and almost reluctantly began to continue walking behind the fans.

"So what are ya going to do Sam? Are you going to kill me?" The one dressed like Dean asked.

"Man I am so sick of you telling me what to do," Fake-Sam started to respond when Dean cut them off, totally tired of their little game.

"All right, you know what? That's it. That is it!"

"What's wrong Bobby?" Fake-Dean asked, staying in character.

"I-I'm not Bobby, okay?" Dean stammered, frustration and anger obvious on his face and in his voice. "You're not Sam. You're not Dean. What is wrong with you? Why in the hell would you choose to be these guys?"

"Because we're fans," the one dressed like Sam replied in his normal voice. "Like you."

"No. I am not a fan, okay," Dean replied while Sam and Kate remained utterly quiet at his sides. "We're not fans. In fact, I think that the Dean and Sam story sucks. It is not fun. It is not entertaining. It is a river of crap that would send most people howling to the nut house. So you listen to me. Their pain is not for your amusement. I mean do you think they enjoy being treated like... like circus freaks?"

"Uh...I don't think they care, because they're _fictional characters_!" Fake-Dean replied with a matter-of-factly tone.

"Oh they care. Believe me. They care a lot," Dean told him, a note of sternness in his tone before he stormed off the path, leaving the four others staring after him.

The two fans turned back to look at Sam and Kate, in search of an explanation for Dean's sudden burst-out, but Kate wasn't even looking at them. Her gaze was still glued on Dean as he slowly got further and further from them. She knew his words weren't pronounced just because of this whole fan convention. She had noticed that ever since they left Kansas City, Missouri, he was more thoughtful than ever before. It was as though something new was bothering him more than anything else that he always kept buried in him.

"He… Uh... He takes the story really seriously," Sam gave as an explanation before Kate pushed through the two fans, and quickly ran after Dean, leaving the younger Winchester to give the same lame explanation about her to them.

"Hey!" Kate exclaimed as she finally reached the elder Winchester. He glanced down at her and then over her shoulders where the fans were still with his brother, before keeping on walking, noiselessly.

As she looked up at his profile, she saw how tight his strong jaw was clenched and how deeply concentrated his facial features seemed to be. She had already asked him what was up with him lately when they were at Bobby's, but all she had earned back was a statement of the obvious Apocalypse that they were trying to stop, all wrapped in a very sarcastic tone. However, no matter what he said to her, her instinct told her that there was something else bugging at him.

Her foot bumped into a rock, causing her to almost tumble over if Dean hadn't caught her waist in time. "Thanks," she looked up to meet his green eyes before he let go of her; too soon for her liking even though she wouldn't even admit it to herself.

"Time to turn on the flashlights," Dean stated, causing Kate to look around and notice that it was true that the further they got from the hotel, the less lights enlightened the path leading to the graveyard.

Dean switched on his flashlight, directing it before them so the path was illuminated as they both continued walking.

Thoughtful, Kate chew on her bottom lip for a few seconds before she gently asked, "What's bothering you?"

"You mean aside from all these douchebags thinking our lives is some kind of fun romance to read and enjoy?" He grumpily asked in answer.

"You really think that's what people who read your story, think of your lives?" Kate inquired, frowning up at him.

"Well, it sure looks like it," he replied before Kate's phone started to ring in her pants' pocket.

The young woman slipped her hand in her tight jeans' pocket and slipped out her cellphone. A quick glance at the flashing screen informed her of who it was before she answered the call.

"Hey stranger," she playfully greeted, causing Dean to look at her as he wondered who was on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I'm good. What about you?... Um, no, I'm actually in the middle of a case… Yeah, well, it's a salt 'n' burn like Dean likes to call them," she lightly chuckled and Dean did his best to keep his gaze focused on the path ahead of them as they kept walking. "We're actually heading for a graveyard, right now… Yeah… Um, you sure you're alright?... I don't know, you kinda sound weird… Yeah, yeah. Okay, I'll call you back."

Kate hung up, a wistful expression on her face that Dean could still make out thanks to the light coming from the half-moon shining up in the black sky.

"What's wrong?" He asked her as she slipped her phone back into her pocket and glanced up at him.

"Um… It was Matt," she replied, her thoughtfulness echoing in her tone. "I think something's up with him."

"You sure it ain't because you miss him?" Dean asked, his voice sounding accusing.

"No," Kate quickly responded. "I mean, of course, I miss him. But, it's not about that."

"Isn't it what it's all about?" Dean asked, causing Kate to frown.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind," Dean sighed before Kate grabbed his forearm and made him stop. He turned around and looked down at her, their gazes immediately meeting.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked him, her voice as soft as her brown eyes.

Nearly reluctant to look away from her sparkling eyes, Dean lowered his green eyes until they landed on her hand wrapped around his forearm covered by his father's leather jacket.

He could feel _it_ escaping out of her, going through the fibers of his layers of clothes before finally reaching his skin and sending a warm feeling of comfort and peace in his whole body and soul.

Some light briefly flashed on their faces, causing both of them to turn their heads to the three others who were now only a few feet away from them.

"This stupid convention… That's what the matter with me," Dean grumpily said, without meeting her gaze before going back to walk up to the graveyard, which made Kate drop her hand from him and stand still on her spot for a couple of seconds. Before following him, she promised herself that she would make him tell her what was truly bugging him once they would be just the two of them.

* * *

Shortly after, everyone reached the graveyard. Sam, Dean and Kate immediately started to shine their flashlights on the gravestones, in search of the ones they would have to dig up. It had become almost second nature for the young woman now. Most of the cases she had dealt with revolved around creatures that requested some digging up in graveyards, so she knew how to not waste her time and immediately search for the gravestone aimed. All she could think about every time she stepped in a graveyard was how blessed she was to not be coimetrophobic. As for the two cosplayers, it took them some time to accept the fact that it was a real graveyard they were at. Neither of them had ever been to a real graveyard during night-time, but after one glance at each other, they both switched on their flashlights and started to walk around in the graveyard, looking for what would make them win the game.

"I found the four boys," Dean announced, his flashlight pointed at the gravestones.

"And here's Leticia Gore," Sam declared while Kate was shining the gravestone of the dead woman.

The light noise made by the two fans as they tiptoed around the edge of the cemetery, shining their torches in the bushes, caused the trio to look over at them with puzzled expressions.

"Ah...what are you guys doing?" Dean asked them, shinning his flashlight at them.

"We're looking for bones genius," Fake-Dean replied in his grave voice as Kate and Sam lifted their flashlights towards the two fans as well. "They gotta be around here somewhere."

"Okay. Generally, bones are in the ground," Dean informed them as Sam dumped his bag on the ground and both he and Kate crouched around it as he zipped it open.

"Yeah, I know that," the fan rolled his eyes. "I just..." The fan began as he saw Dean going over his brother while this latter handed a shovel at Kate that she then handed to Dean. "Wait, hold on. Are you guys serious?"

"Deadly," Dean replied as Sam took out another shovel, handing it to Kate before she stood up as he took a last shovel for himself.

"We're not really digging up graves you guys," the guy dressed as Sam spoke, his voice showing how nervous he was slowly starting to be.

Kate turned to Sam and Dean, and murmured, "Maybe, we should tell them to leave?"

"Nah, they're fine," Dean stated loud enough for the sceptical and slightly terrified duo to hear him, as he kept his green gaze glued to them.

"Um, guys, we're just playing a game, you know that?" Fake Sam continued, his eyes nervously traveling from Sam to Dean and then the brunette as she turned around.

"Trust us," Dean smirked. "You wanna win the game, right?"

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

After Sam, Kate and Dean started digging out Letitia Gore's grave all together while the two fans stood around the grave, shining their torches for them to see, they started giving each other's turns. The two fans didn't show any interest in digging in the grave so they stood there, completely quiet, while Sam was digging as Dean was catching his breath and Kate was trying to crack her back's joints. Soon enough, it was Dean's turn to dig so Sam got out of the hole and went to stand by Kate's side, turning on his own flashlight to shine the hole like Kate and the two fans were already doing.

Within a few minutes, Dean's shovel thumped against the coffin that turned out to not be buried that deep underground. Dean put his shovel away as the wind started to pick up, causing Kate to shiver and look up at Sam's face.

"You think…" She trailed off, her voice a low whisper. He looked down at her, tilting his head to the side with an expression that Kate had become so accustomed to and that simply meant 'I am afraid so'. Impulsively, Kate turned to Dean, "Hurry up, Dean."

Dean didn't say anything as he simply lifted the coffin lid, shocking the two fans as the skeleton of Letitia Gore was revealed.

"That's not a plastic skeleton," Fake Dean stated, as he and his friend never looked away from the skeleton. "That's a... that's a _skeleton_ skeleton."

"You just dug up a real grave," Fake Sam declared, his face looking as pale as his friend's.

"Yeah," Dean casually replied before he looked over at Kate. "You didn't have that kind of reaction the first time you saw a skeleton."

"Well, seeing bones ain't as bad as seeing decomposed bones, which I've seen back in University," Kate shrugged while the two fans looked back and forth at her and at Dean.

"You guys are nuts," Fake Dean told them, shaking his head.

"I thought you guys wanted to be hunters?" Sam asked them, the ghost of a smirk on his lips as he watched them shrinking back.

"Hunters aren't real man!" Fake Dean exclaimed, showing how freaked out by the trio he was. "This isn't real!"

Kate watched them as they turned to walk away, almost feeling bad for freaking them out by letting them witness the dig up of a real skeleton.

"My God. You guys have seriously lost your grip on this," Fake Sam began, he and his partner turning around to look back at them but freezing on spot at what they spotted past Sam and Kate.

"What?" Sam asked before he and Kate turned, only to see the ghost of Letitia Gore standing right beside them.

"Naughty, naughty, naughty!" The ghost screamed before backhanding Sam across the cemetery. She quickly turned to Kate and sent her flying across the cemetery as well.

Dean heaved himself out of the grave, throwing glances at Sam who was knocked out on the ground while Kate was trying to stand up after landing on her back, on a gravestone. The two fans tried to run away, but fake Sam stumbled and fell, while Dean hurriedly rummaged in his duffel bag.

"Barnes!" Fake Dean shouted for his friend before pulling him to his feet and turning again to run, only to have the ghost standing right before them.

As Dean stood up with the salt and burn materials, the two fans screamed, causing Dean to look over at them before Kate approached him.

"You okay?" Dean couldn't help but ask her, his green eyes scanning her whole face before she took the salt container from his hand, making him understand that this question could wait until they had gotten rid of the ghost.

Kate poured salt on the skeleton when the two fans screamed even louder as the ghost pushed her hands deeper into their chests, making her look over them while Dean was finishing pouring kerosene all over the bones.

"Dean," Kate said, her tone urgent as she watched the two fans.

He didn't say anything as he reached into his pocket for his lighter. He flicked it and then dropped it into the grave in one movement, setting the bones in fire.

The ghost disappeared in flames and screams as the two cosplayers, frozen in spot, staring at it until it was fully gone.

"Real enough for you?" Dean asked them, his tone almost harsh as they turned to look at him with horrified faces, before the elder hunter turned his attention for the brunette standing by his sides. "You're okay?" He asked, his tone the exact opposite of the one he used two seconds ago.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm just going to need a serious back rub."

"Well, I'll be pleased to help," he told her, a tiny smirk plastered on his lips, to which she looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed at the way he told her these words. Dean moved his gaze over his little brother who was now standing up. "Sammy, you alright?"

"I'm good," Sam nodded. "We're done?"

"We're done," Dean confirmed.

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

Sitting at the edge of the Impala's front passenger seat with the door left wide open, Kate held one little bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of painkillers in the other as she absent-mindedly watched Sam as he walked the two fans back to the hotel where the convention was soon going to end while Dean finished putting their duffel bags in the trunk of his car.

Kate wasn't even startled when Dean noisily slammed the trunk. In no time, he was standing before her, his body obstructing her view on Sam and the two fans as they got into the hotel. She looked up at him, her brown eyes immediately meeting his green eyes before she gave him a weak smile as she put the two bottles on the dashboard and slowly stood up.

"You sure you don't want a back rub before we hit the road?"

"I got the feeling that giving massages isn't really your thing," she playfully smiled up at him before putting her hands on her lower back.

"Don't be so sure. I've been said that I got magic fingers by more than one woman," he smirked.

"Well, I would need more than one back rub to check that," Kate replied, in a flirty tone, which surprised Dean and herself too. However, she didn't look mortified as Dean's eyes roamed over her wincing face as she tried to stretch her back.

Dean couldn't help the little smile that curled his mouth before he cleared his throat, "Alright. You still wanna say goodbye to Chuck?"

"Of course," she nodded before she took two steps away from the Impala so he could close the door and lock the car.

The instant he turned around, she couldn't help the words that escaped her lips. "You know, you're wrong." He questioned her with his eyes and she took a deep breath as she spoke, at first hesitantly and then the words tumbling down. "About what people think about you and your life, after reading those books… Sure, they believe you and Sam are fictional, but that doesn't mean they can't understand you or what you go through. I mean, of course, they must know absolutely nothing about what's lurking in the dark, but that doesn't make too much of a difference. They still can feel for you, and understand you, maybe not completely but at least some things. If they dress like you, it's not to make fun of you. It's because they admire you, Dean. They admire your strength, your loyalty, your kindness… Your sacrifices. Dean, Chuck may have written you like a fictional character, but that doesn't mean that you're not real for them… That doesn't mean they don't care about you."

Dean watched her for a few seconds, before a smirk appeared on his mouth as he said, "I knew it. You're a Dean girl."

"What?" Kate frowned at him, outraged. "I'm giving you a whole speech full of heartfelt words and all you find to say is _that_?"

Dean didn't say anything as he walked past her, his smirk fading away from his face, only to be replaced by a tiny and wistful smile while her words played in a loop in his head.

" _That doesn't mean they don't care about you…"_

* * *

 _ **A short moment later.**_

When Dean entered the hotel, he immediately went to his brother, leaving Kate to go say her goodbyes to the writer. Sam and Dean didn't take long saying their own goodbyes to the two fans who were trying to drown their traumatizing memories of their time at the graveyard at the bar. The Winchester brothers wanted to leave this place as fast as possible, tired of seeing all this convention blossoming around them. Walking towards the exit door, their eyes scanned the room for their brown-eyed friend around the room when Sam spotted her and Chuck standing nearby the windows, talking like two old friends. Sam shoved his brother's side, to show him where the young woman was before they both crossed the room to them.

"Hey Chuck. Good luck with the Supernatural books, and screw you very much," Dean told the writer before turning his gaze to Kate. "Time to go," he nodded at her before walking towards the hallway with his brother.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't mean that," Kate told Chuck as she gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"I'm completely sure he did," he replied and she gave him a kind smile.

"I'll see you, soon," she wrapped her arms around him, causing him to hug her back.

"Y-yeah, of course," he replied before they pulled apart.

"Bye," she smiled before going after the two brothers waiting for her at the doorway.

"Stay safe!" Chuck shouted after her, causing her to throw a quick glance at him while a few people looked back and forth at them.

Once the brunette caught the two brothers, Sam went to open the main doors, but it seemed as though the doors wouldn't open.

"What's going on?" Kate asked, her brows furrowed as she looked up at his puzzled face.

"I think it's locked," Sam responded as Dean tried to push against the doors with the help of his brother, but the doors still wouldn't open.

"That's weird," Dean stated as he and Sam turned around, Kate's brown eyes going back and forth between their faces.

"Definitely," Sam agreed.

* * *

Not long after the trio had tried to open every single exit of the hotel, they came to the conclusion that something was keeping them all inside the building. It didn't take a genius to understand that Leticia Gore hadn't been the only ghost to haunt this place. Suddenly a woman' scream reached their ears, causing them to quickly run off to find the source of the terrified shriek.

Within a few seconds, they were met by the woman acting like a ghost for the sake of the convention running out of a room. She looked terrified, throwing glances behind her when Dean caught her.

"Don't go in there!" She exclaimed, her voice full of panic as she turned her gaze up to him.

"Get downstairs okay?" Dean told her before letting go of her. "Go, go!"

Kate watched the young woman as she ran away, before she turned to Sam and Dean who were slowly walking into the room. She followed them as though she was their shadows, when the voice of a little boy spoke up.

"Why'd you do that?"

Kate frowned, walking past Sam and Dean so she could see the boy. The instant her eyes landed on him, she wished she had just stayed in the back, behind the two brothers. The poor little boy was crouching in a corner of the room, holding his head where he was scalped as though it still hurt him, even though he was a ghost.

"Oh God…" Kate breathed out, her hand immediately going up to hover over her gaping mouth.

"Why'd you do that?" The little boy repeated.

Sam and Dean both looked at Kate before Sam naturally wrapped one arm over Kate's shoulders to bring her closer to him. Just like Dean, Sam had noticed the look of real shock on Kate's face, so he gently turned her head and rested it against his strong chest so she wouldn't have to look at the ghost any longer than she already had.

"Why did you send my mommy away?" The boy asked and Kate shut her eyes tightly.

The little, innocent voice reminded her of her cousin's son, Thomas, and it broke her heart in a thousand pieces. Then, her mind filled with questions. How could a human being do this to another human being? How could someone murder a little child in such a terrible way? How could a mother do this to her own child? After all she had seen in this universe just like in the universe she came from, _this_ had to be one of the most terrible things she had ever faced.

"Ah, maybe because of the high and tight she gave you, huh? How about some thanks," Dean replied to the boy, feeling smart with his answer until Sam obnoxiously cleared his throat. "Well, I'm just saying a little gratitude might be nice once in a while," the elder hunter continued. Sam looked down at Kate and then at his brother with a pointed look that made Dean glance down at the young woman whose face was buried against Sam's chest, and he realized that it wasn't time for his smartass comments.

"My mommy didn't do this to me," the little boy declared, causing both of the brothers to turn their attention back to him.

"What? Then who did?" Sam asked, his voice gentle and confused.

But the boy disappeared into thin air without answering, which made Dean exhale a long sigh.

"Katie?" Sam nearly whispered as he stroked her forearm with the hand he had over her shoulder. "He's gone now." Kate nodded, but kept her face snuggled against Sam's jacket. "Are you crying?" Kate shook her head against his chest before she slowly stepped back, her brown eyes meeting his bright hazel ones full of quiet concern.

"I'm sorry, I just…" She trailed off, not knowing how to explain why seeing this little boy affected her in such way.

"It's alright. We get it," Dean stated, his voice gentle as it can be, causing her to turn her head and look at him. His beautiful green eyes held a gentleness that she was only used to see when they were on their own and he wasn't afraid of showing that sensitive and gentle side of his. It made her feel even safer to see that expression sparkling in his eyes. It also made her feel stronger. And stronger she ought to be if she wanted not only for everyone in this hotel to be saved, but also for this ghost-boy to rest in peace.

Kate gave him a nod before taking a deep breath in and asking with determination, "So. What's the plan?"

The sudden scream of a man startled Kate while it only caused Sam and Dean to whip their heads at the direction from where it was coming.

"You go downstairs and stay with Chuck," Dean commanded to Kate, his finger pointed at her.

"No-"

"It's an order," he cut her off. "Go, now!" He rushed her before he and Sam quickly ran down the corridor.

The two hunters stopped on spot when they saw an unmoving body on the floor. It was the man disguised as hook-man who had made several complains to Chuck about several details. He was as dead as can be, his head scalped just like Leticia Gore's son.

"Oh no," Kate's voice came out as a shocked whisper, making the two brothers spin around to look at her.

"Kaitlin, Jeez! I asked you to go downstairs," Dean sighed as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to a corner of the corridor so she would tear her eyes away from the dead body.

"Dean, we've already talked about all of this," she replied, looking straight into his green eyes. "I'm helping you. I'm not here to stick by a prophet's sides because it might keep me safe while you do the dirty job."

"Your reaction with the scalped ghost earlier was kinda a giveaway that you're not comfortable with this case," Sam told her while Dean took his hand off Kate's arm and she moved her gaze to look up at Sam.

"It's different. It just… It took me by surprise, okay? Unlike you two, I'm not used of seeing little kids with their heads scalped."

"Neither are we. But, we know we gotta keep our heads in the game," Dean replied.

"My head is in the game, Dean," she responded, her brown eyes looking straight into Dean's. "So yeah, I didn't react like the tough girl I'm supposed to be, but I can assure you that my head is in the game right now. At two hundred percent. So, I'm gonna ask one more time: what's the plan?"

Dean studied the brunette's face for a few seconds, he could see how much she needed to help and he knew that she was more than capable of doing so. "Alright," he stated, his voice sounding even deeper. "We gotta keep everybody safe, but we can't exactly make sure of that since they're scattered everywhere in the hotel."

"The auditorium," Kate declared, causing both of the brothers to look at her with slight frowns. "Chuck is supposed to hold a goodbye panel in there, and it's supposed to happen right now actually."

"Okay," Dean nodded before looking over at his brother. "Sam, you make sure that Chuck keeps all the fans in the auditorium, and Kate and I will bring everyone else there."

With that, Sam rushed his way to the auditorium while Dean and Kate went to find all the hotel staff and the other people that were in the place so they could convince them into going to the auditorium.

When Dean and Kate ran downstairs, the green-eyed man found it quite difficult to keep his entire focus on what they were supposed to do right now. Indeed, his mind wouldn't stop racing with a thousand thoughts and questions. All about this impossible girl. Her reaction about that ghost-boy worried him, and it made him wonder again if letting her take full part on their hunts was a good idea. No matter how many times this question came up, Dean always ended up wondering if he shouldn't forbid her from involving herself in all that mess instead of consenting. He knew that she was a grown woman who could do whatever she wanted to do, but he also knew this world. He knew how dark, merciless and ghastly this world was. This impossible girl was only starting to discover it, and soon enough she was going to leave it. Soon enough, she was going to go back to her world that was so different from this one. And, Dean knew that it was inevitable. Even if she eventually refused to do that mysterious deal with Chronos, there would still be other ways to send her back. He had figured out one of these ways a few weeks ago and he had damned himself ever since.

" _So, you really don't remember what you said last night?"_ Kate had asked Dean as they packed their bags in the Impala's trunk while Sam went to check them out of the hotel.

"Not really. It's kinda blurry," he had lied convincingly enough as Kate looked away for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Why? What did I say?"

" _Well,"_ she had started quite hesitant before lifting her brown gaze up to meet his green eyes. _"You said something about my blood being what could help me get back to where I come from. Honestly, I don't even know how I missed that huge point in all the research I've done,"_ she had nervously chuckled. _"But, I guess I'll have to check everything out. We're heading to Bobby's, it's the best place for research and_ _ **redoing**_ _research."_

" _Redoing research about what?"_ Sam had asked as he approached them.

" _Dean may have found a way to send me back sooner and safer than by doing that deal with Chronos,"_ Kate had replied and it was right then that Dean had started cursing himself.

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

The hotel staff wasn't hard to persuade. After a few words, Dean and Kate managed to get them to follow them towards the auditorium. Fortunately, there were only the Supernatural fans and the hotel staff there, so Dean and Kate didn't have to look in the entire hotel to make sure that they got everybody with them.

As Dean opened the door to the auditorium, he ushered the staff in while Kate came back with salt containers from the kitchens.

"Buddy, I got work to do," the hotel manager who had given them all the first information about Leticia Gore told Dean.

"You're gonna want to see this, trust me," Dean replied, a fake smile on the lips to give more life to his act. "It's gonna be a hell of a show."

After all the staff got in, closely followed by Kate, Dean closed the door and turned to the brunette who handed him one salt container. Sam joined them and Kate handed him one salt container too, before they all began to lay salt at every single exit.

The hotel manager looked over at them with a curious look and once Kate walked past him, he stopped her. "Excuse me, but may I know what you're doing?"

"Um, it's part of the show," Kate didn't find a better lie to say.

"And, it's gonna get cleaned afterwards, right?" He asked and Kate pressed her lips together, quite irritated by this hotel manager.

"I'll personally make sure of that," Kate gave him a fake smile before she went to do the two other doors that were at each side of the stage.

"Ah, what does the future hold for Sam and Dean?" Chuck was saying as Kate traced a salt line on the first door. "Well, how do you feel about angels? Yeah, because let me tell you, they're not nearly as lame as you think," he continued as his blue eyes traveled to the brunette who rushed to the other side of the stage. He looked at her as she bent down and started to trace another line of salt and then he blurted out, "And there'll be a new female character. From another world actually."

Kate whipped her head at him, wide brown eyes staring up at him when a brouhaha of different reactions rose up in the audience. Chuck turned to look at the brunette, a little smile on his lips as he was assuming that she would be quite flattered by this announcement but the glaring look that she was giving him quickly rubbed the smile off his face.

"It's a joke," he quickly declared, his head snapping back to look over at the crowd. "Um, there won't be any female character from another world. Just angels. A lot of angels."

Kate sighed before she returned her attention into finishing the last salt line. Once it was done, she looked over at Sam and saw Dean coming towards him. She made her way back to them as they were now in the middle of what seemed to be a quite intense conversation.

"Tell me you guys came up with a plan because I don't think staying put here is gonna solve the problem," she stated as she arrived by their sides.

"Well, the plan is to go back to the graveyard and destroy the three other kids' bones," Sam replied, causing a frown to appear on Kate's face. "But, we're trapped, we don't even have our guns."

"Woah, wind back. Why do we have to burn the other kids' bones?" Kate inquired, truly puzzled.

"We think they're the ones who did that to Leticia Gore's son before she flipped out and did the same to them," Sam explained, putting his hands on his hips.

"They were having fun until it went out of control," Dean added as Kate turned her head to look at him, her facial expression making Dean slightly frown.

There was no way that sentence Dean pronounced wouldn't throw her mind back into deep memories that she always tried to forget. Memories of that time in high school when some teenagers were trying to only have fun with her until it went out of control and she ended up in hospital. Memories that she had believed for a long time she had forgotten. After that case back at Sam and Dean's former schools, she had even believed that she had moved on from this period of her life. But, the truth was that she didn't know where she stood today. She didn't know if she was finally at peace or if these memories would creep up back into her the way they used to before.

"Yeah, so, now the ghosts are running this joint and they're only scared of one thing," Sam exclaimed as Kate moved her attention back to him.

"Leticia," she whispered before she cleared her throat. "But, we got rid of her."

"Like I told Dean a minute ago: smooth move on our part," Sam commented, causing Kate to bit on her bottom lip.

"How are we supposed to bring back the only thing that could keep them under control?" She sighed.

"I think I got an idea," Dean declared, making the two others look at him with questioning eyes. He didn't tell them more as he walked past them towards the actress disguised as Leticia Gore, both Sam and Kate turning to look at him as he took the actress to one side.

"Oh now, I get what his idea is," Kate declared, totally oblivious to Sam watching her profile now.

"Katie, you're okay?" Sam asked, causing Kate to move her head to him.

"Yeah."

"I'm only asking because you don't look really okay," he told her, his voice full of concern. "This case seems to kind of affect you."

"I'm fine, Sam. Really."

"Look, I know it's not the best of times to have this kind of conversation, but I also know that no ghost can attack this room, so…" He trailed off, his eyes showing him that she could tell him what was bothering her.

A weak smile appeared on Kate's lips before she responded, "It's just… It's the first time I work on a case involving such young kids… And, when I saw this ghost with his scalped head, I just… He just reminded me of my cousin' son. And now you guys are saying that these kids did that to Leticia's son because they wanted to have fun… And that just…" She shrugged, not knowing what to say else to make him understand what was going on with her.

"I get it," Sam replied and he really got it. Cases involving young, innocent children always set them off. But cases that reminded them of the hardest moments of their lives were the worst. "Do you wanna stay here while Dean and I stop the ghosts?"

"No," she shook her head before looking up to meet his eyes. "The more people involved, the higher our chances of getting this done."

"You want me to do what?" The brown-haired actress asked as Dean led her to stand with Sam and Kate.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, looking back and forth at the disguised woman and at his big brother.

"Our friend here has some trouble understanding that we really need her to help us," Dean responded.

"You want me to go upstairs where that little boy was," the woman said to Dean in a tone that showed how crazy she thought he was.

"You're an actress. We just want you to act," Dean explained to her.

"I work at Hooters, in Toledo. No, you can forget it."

"You'll be safe, we promise," Sam reassured her. "This is really important."

"Why can't she do it?" The woman waved her hand at Kate whose eyebrows shot up on her forehead.

"She's a bad actress," Dean immediately said, causing Kate to glance at him when her eyes moved over his shoulder to look over at the two fans who were with them at the graveyard earlier as they walked towards them now.

Fake Dean dropped one hand on Dean's shoulder, causing him to turn around. "We wanna help."

Dean turned to Sam, "Just give her the puppy dog thing okay?" He then went towards the two fans as they took a few steps back to get a bit away from Sam and the two brown-haired women. "Guys, no."

"Why not?" Fake Sam asked.

"Cause this isn't make-believe," Dean answered.

"Look, we know. We're not nuts. We're freakin' terrified," Fake Dean declared.

"Yeah, but if all these people are seriously in trouble, we gotta do something," Fake Sam continued.

"Why?" Dean asked, completely confused.

"Because. That's what Sam and Dean would do," Fake Dean replied, taking the real hunter aback. He threw a glance at Kate who was saying something to the actress who never stopped nodding back at her.

Maybe what she said about these fans wasn't that wrong. After all she was rarely wrong.

* * *

While Dean and the actress went upstairs to the library where Leticia Gore' son had appeared earlier, Sam and Kate went along with Fake Sam and Fake Dean to the main doors. The plan was to force at least one of the doors open so they could go to the graveyard while the actress kept the ghosts distracted.

Grunting and groaning, Sam, Kate and the two fans threw all their weight against the door, attempting their hardest to push it open.

"It won't open!" Fake Dean groaned out loud.

"Keep pushing!" Kate shouted.

"It's impossible," Fake Sam whined when the door suddenly gave a little.

"Go, go, go," Sam shouted and Kate squeezed out, quickly followed by Fake Sam, and a few seconds later it was Fake Dean who got out.

"Sam!" Kate shouted, hitting the door.

"Just go, Kate! You know what to do!" She heard him shout from the other side of the door.

"Alright," Kate told herself before turning around to Fake Sam and Fake Dean. "Follow me!"

They ran to the Impala, and luckily enough, Kate was the one to who Dean had tossed his car's keys before he went upstairs with the actress. She opened the trunk and took out the two bags already filled with the necessary for the salt 'n' burn that they had brought to the graveyard earlier. She handed one of the bags to Fake Sam and the three of them went as fast as possible to the graveyard. Being a rather fast runner, Kate was already at the graveyard, digging one of the graves when the two fans arrived. Without a word, they positioned their flashlights so they could shine the graves the same way Kate had done and then, with no hesitation, they each took a shovel and began digging alongside the brunette.

The concentration and strength that the young woman was putting in every movement of hers was noticed by the two men who kept throwing glances at her. She seemed to only go through the motions at a steady, rapid pace and aside from her occasional grunts, she didn't show any sign of tiredness, which only made the two fans even more motivated to keep digging.

However, a few minutes later, Fake Sam began to feel like it was becoming too much for him, "Oh my God. Supernatural makes digging graves seem so easy. It's not though. I'm gonna throw up."

"No you're not," his friend told him as Kate finished digging up. She put the shovel away, bent down and opened the coffin, letting her eyes settle on the short skeleton of one of the three kids for a second before she swallowed down and heaved herself out of the hole.

"You're done? How can you already be done?" Fake Sam told her, but she didn't say anything as she grabbed her shovel and started to dig up the grave he was working on.

"Keep digging," she simply commanded, her brown eyes focused on the dirt she was spooning in her shovel before tossing it away.

"Right," Fake Sam stammered as he went back to digging up.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile.**_

After the actress' cellphone rang in her pocket, blowing up the whole plan of her distracting the ghosts while the four others had to leave the hotel so they could get to the graveyard, Dean had no other choice but to step in. He had been hiding in the hallway while the actress was in the library, so he could insure her safety, but when her cellphone rang, he had to make her run away. With an iron bar in one hand, the hunter had gone into the library, ready to do his best to fight against these ghosts. But, the thing was that fighting against ghosts was always kind of tricky. They could appear and disappear everywhere they wanted, and it was worse when there was more than one ghost. Now that Dean was facing three ghosts with sharp knives ready to give him a new haircut, he couldn't help but think that maybe he should have agreed when Sam offered to keep an eye on the actress with him while the three others went to the graveyard.

When Dean was violently thrown against the wall and his iron bar slid across the room, Dean raised his gaze to see the ghosts holding up their knives as they moved towards him. He was saved by Sam swooping up the iron bar and causing them to vanish into thin air. Sam reached out a hand to pull Dean up.

"Thanks," Dean told him as he stood up. "But, what're you doin' here?"

"I couldn't get out in time," Sam briefly explained.

"What about Kaitlin?"

"She's out there, with _Sam_ and _Dean_ ," Sam replied before he was suddenly flung back against the wall, dropping the iron bar on the floor as his brother shouted out his name before the same happened to him.

* * *

At the graveyard, Kate had just finished pouring the gasoline on the skeletons when she realized she hadn't brought anything to light up the bones. She was ready to run back to the Impala when Fake Dean took his own lighter out of his jacket's pocket, claiming that he wouldn't be a good cosplayer if he didn't have every accessory that the real Dean always carried around. However, after a couple of minutes, Kate realized that being dressed like Dean and owning all his accessories, was far from making him Dean. Indeed, no matter how many times he flicked at his lighter, he was facing some troubles flaring it up while Dean could do it so easily and naturally.

"How come Dean can always light the stupid thing on the first freaking try?" He groaned as he kept flicking. "Come on!... Oh! Look, I did it! I did it!"

"Toss it in there!" Kate urged him and he obliged.

Fire formed in the first grave before it followed the lines of gasoline that Kate had traced, and the two other graves were burning soon after. The red and orange flames shone brightly as they burned the bones of these murdered children. The two fans and Kate stood there, quiet on the outside as they watched over the burning graves, but loud thoughts whirling around in the inside. The two fans couldn't believe what they had just done, as for Kate, all she could think about was what Dean said earlier.

" _They were having fun until it went out of control."_

How could such young children think that doing this to another child was fun?

It seemed that no matter what era it was and no matter what universe it was, some children could be cruel to each other, simply because they wanted to have some fun.

Kate slightly frowned, her hand found its way to her tattooed hip before her fingers gripped at the hem of her hoodie as memories of what these kids back in high school had done to her, flooded back in her mind. Feeling as though she had her heart in her throat, she shut her eyes closed and tried to silently calm herself down.

"Um, aren't we supposed to salt 'n' burn Gore's son, too?" Fake Dean asked, turning to Kate.

"No," Kate replied, her voice calm as she opened her eyes. "Now that his persecutors are gone, he's at peace…" Her fingers unclenched from the hem of her hoodie and her hand slowly fell back to her sides, no longer holding above the scared and tattooed hip of hers as a serene smile formed on her lips. Now, she knew where she stood. Now, she knew what she was… "Finally at peace."

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

It wasn't long after Kate and the two fans, whom she found out their names were Barnes and Damian, had returned to the hotel that the police arrived. Apparently, right after Sam and Dean saw the ghosts burning in front of their eyes, they went to tell Chuck that he could dismiss everyone, but someone from the hotel staff had then found the body of that German fan and called the cops. Everyone had then to stay in the hotel until the cops were done questioning every single person, very much to Dean's dislike. All the green-eyed hunter wanted to do was get far away from this place, but it seemed like they wouldn't go before at least dawn.

"Thanks for your cooperation, sir," the cop talking with Dean said with a nod of his head.

"Always my pleasure to help," Dean simply replied before the cop squinted his eyes at him.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked.

"Oh, I just got one of those faces," Dean casually lied before another cop approached them, asking for his colleague to come and see something.

Once the two cops were gone, Dean let out a long sigh before turning around, his green eyes immediately settling on Kate as she spoke to another cop across the room. His eyes travelled from her dirty boots and her tight jeans that were also covered with some dirt from the digging, to her blue flannel that was at the right size to do the same job of showing her curvy silhouette as her jeans. When his gaze arrived up on her profile, he could see how she licked naturally red her lips before pressing them together as she nodded at the cop. Her short brown curls subtly bouncing up and down at the movement of her head.

Once more, Dean couldn't help the memories that popped up in his mind.

" _Hey Bobby,"_ Dean had greeted as he walked into the old man's kitchen through the backdoor. Getting no reply, he had made his way to the messy living room, his green eyes searching for the three other people who were supposed to be there. _"Guys?"_ He had shrugged, ready to let it go and just take a beer and go back to what he was doing in the background when his eyes spotted the few books on the coffee table.

Those were all books about dimensional traveling and nearby there was a notebook wide open on which Kate had written down one word with a question mark. _**'Blood?'**_

When he had moved his gaze to the few other notebooks laying open, he understood that she was getting closer and closer to making what he had figured out an even more game-changer.

A fan suddenly bumping onto him pulled Dean out of his thoughts. He looked at the young man who apologized to him before keeping on walking and then he moved his gaze back to the brunette. He saw the cop telling her a few words before walking off, leaving Kate alone to lightly throw her head back. Dean couldn't help the corner smile that grew on his lips as he saw her doing that. As though feeling eyes on her, Kate turned her head and immediately spotted him. He gave her a nod towards the bar that was just a couple of feet behind him and she simply made her way up to him.

"This is terrible," she muttered once she was standing by his sides.

"What's terrible?" He asked her as they both went to sit on stools at the bar where the bartender was working after the cops didn't argue against that.

"I just blatantly lied to a cop," she whispered, her eyes round in order to emphasize the meaning of her words.

"Well, welcome to my life, where you either lie to cops or lie to be a cop," he whispered back and Kate lightly scoffed at that. "Two beers," Dean ordered as the bartender approached them.

"Where's Sam?" The brunette inquired, looking around.

"I thought you were a Dean girl," he teased her and she turned to him.

"I never said that."

"I know, but I have an instinct when it comes to things like that," he replied, a little smirk dancing on his lips.

"What if I am a slash girl? Huh?" She teased him.

"A slash girl? What-" Dean began when he suddenly remembered what it was. "Oh no, please, Kaitlin. We're brothers."

"Chill out, I'm only joking," she told him when the bartender came back and settled each beer in front of them. "Thanks," she politely smiled up at him and he nodded before making his way to a couple of other people sitting at the other end of the bar. When she turned her gaze to Dean, she was slightly surprised by the way he was staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied before looking down at his beer, a thoughtful expression on his face before a smile stretched up on his lips.

"Well, sorry but your smile tells me differently," she remarked and he looked up at her in a way that almost took Kate's breath away before he finally spoke up.

"It's just that I planned on asking you what was going on with you, 'cause earlier you seemed a little bit _off_ ," he told her as she frowned at him. "For lack of better a word," he added before his eyes roamed over her face as he continued, "But, when I look at you now, it's like… You feel better, right?"

"Right," she gently whispered, nodding.

"Good," he simply stated before bringing his beer up to his mouth.

"Good," she repeated, her brown eyes watching him before a light cough was heard and made them both turn their heads to see the brown-haired actress standing behind them, her eyes glued to Dean.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"Hey," Dean simply said back.

"I just wanted to thank you for… Um, for saving my life," she told him, slightly blushing before she held out a tiny piece of paper. "If you ever pass by the Hooters restaurant downtown. Call me." Dean glanced down at the paper before he took it and looked up at the actress who gave him a little seductive smile and then simply walked off.

"Looks like saving the damsel in distress remains the best way to get a hook up," Kate joked, hoping that it would hide the slight hurt that rose inside of her and that she couldn't even explain to herself.

"Technically, you're the one who saved us all, so this should go to you," he put the piece of paper on the bar and slid it towards her.

"Technically, I was helped by two other guys, but something tells me they won't want that number," Kate replied, sliding the piece of paper back towards him. "So, you can keep it."

Dean looked down at the paper, his upper teeth raking his bottom lip thoughtfully before taking the paper and tearing it in pieces. The brunette's eyes rounded with surprise and when he looked up at her, he shrugged, "She's not my type."

"Yet you flirted with her earlier," Kate remarked, to which Dean gave another shrug before taking a sip of his beer. "If you're more into blondes, we can still see if Sam would share Becky."

Dean laughed, wrinkles forming at the corner of his eyes in a way that made Kate's heart melt. These wrinkles were so contradictory because when he laughed with all his heart just like right now, he looked ten years younger. Moreover, he looked as though he never knew any kind of pain and Kate liked to imagine that for the time of his laughter, he did forget all about it.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

It was now dawn when the police allowed people to leave the hotel after all their questioning. There was still a few emergency vehicles lined up in front of the hotel and some people were still talking to some cops as a few fans and Kate walked out of the hotel. The brunette was carrying a couple of black plastic bags in one hand and a cup of black coffee in the other. Bringing the coffee up to her lips, she sipped on it before she saw Demian and Barnes stepping out of the hotel.

"Kate," Barnes waved his hand at her.

"Sam and Dean," she greeted back, a playful smile on her lips as the duo approached her.

"Oh no," Demian shook his head. "For the next two weeks, I think we'll stick by Demian and Barnes."

"Well, it's not that bad," Kate replied. "Because, Demian and Barnes, they saved us all last night. Real heroes."

"So are Sam and Dean," Barnes told her and the young woman couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips at that until her cellphone rang in her jeans' pocket.

"You take care of each other, okay?" She told them as they nodded and walked down the flight of stairs while she tried to take her cellphone out without spilling her hot coffee all over her. She was slightly startled when she felt someone take her cup of coffee off her hand.

When she looked up and saw that it was Dean, she didn't say anything as he simply told her to pick up the phone call. She fished her phone out of her pocket as Dean turned his head towards the end of the stairs.

"Hey!" He shouted after the two fans who stopped walking, turned around and waited for him as he quickly walked down the stairs with Kate's coffee in hand.

"You know I gotta hand it to you guys," he told them as he finally stood by their sides. "You really saved our asses back there. So ah… You know. Thanks."

"Well, we weren't alone, there," Barnes replied, looking over at Kate, which caused Dean to follow his gaze. He looked at the brunette as she spoke on the phone and he couldn't help the corner smile that appeared on his mouth.

"Guys, I don't even know your names," he turned his attention back to them.

"Oh. Well, I'm Barnes," Fake Sam introduced. "This is Demian. What's yours?"

Dean looked at them for a moment, considering if he should give them his true identity or not, before he glanced over at Kate who was talking on the phone. He remembered what she had told him about these fans and what they might really think about him and Sam. He also remembered what Barnes and Demian had told him to persuade him in letting them help with the hunt.

"Dean," he declared, serious like never before. "The _real_ Dean."

Barnes and Demian looked at him a moment and then they simply burst out with laughter.

"Ahhh, yeah right. Me too!" Demian laughed.

"Get the hell out of here Dean!" Barnes joked.

Dean simply nodded, before giving them a tiny smile, "Well, anyway. Thanks. Really."

He turned his head up towards Kate and started to head for that direction when Demian spoke up. "You're wrong you know."

Dean turned around, confused, "Sorry?"

"About 'Supernatural'," Demian continued. "No offense but I'm not sure you get what the stories about."

"Is that so?" Dean half-smirked at him.

"Alright. In real life, he sells stereo equipment. I fix copiers. Our lives suck," Demian explained while Dean listened carefully at him. "But to be Sam and Dean, to wake up every morning and save the world. To have a brother who would die for you. Well who wouldn't want that?"

These words were sufficient for Dean to realize how right Kate was when she defended these fans. Moreover, these words gave Dean a new point of view to what his life really was about.

"Maybe you got a point," Dean eventually told them. "You know, you two don't make a bad team yourselves. How do you know each other anyway?"

"Oh. Well, we met online. 'Supernatural' chat room," Barnes replied, smiling.

"Oh. Well it must be nice to get out of your parent's basement," Dean smiled. "Make some friends."

"We're more than friends," Demian responded, taking Barnes' hand so they could intertwine their fingers together. "We're partners."

"Oh…" Dean just said, surprised, as Barnes dropped his head onto Demian's shoulder and they both grinned at Dean. "That's why she didn't think you'd want the number…" He muttered to himself before continuing. "Well, howdy partners!"

"Howdy," Barnes smiled.

"Well, I-I got a coffee to give back," Dean stammered as he lifted the cup of coffee up and then turned around to climb up the flight of stairs and go back to Kate's sides.

When Dean arrived just a couple of stairs away from the young woman, he saw the weird, wistful expression on her face as she hung up and stared at the device in her hand. It got him a bit concerned, especially since he knew that it could have been Bobby calling her with some bad news.

"Everything's alright?" He asked, startling her.

"What?" She turned her head towards him.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Um… It was just Matt…"

Dean frowned at the weird tone of hers, "You're sure everything's alright with him?"

"Yeah, yeah. He's just a bit weird lately," Kate simply replied before shrugging. "Anyways. We're ready to go?"

"Well, Sam is still inside with his girlfriend," Dean told her, hoping that his choice of words would get at least a tiny smile to appear on her lips. It worked which only made Dean smile as well.

"Let's go and wait for him in the car, then," Kate suggested as she walked up to him and took her coffee cup back. "You didn't spit on it, right?" She asked, looking up at him now that she was standing at the same step than him.

"How old do you think I am?" He replied, his green eyes looking down at her.

"I don't know sometimes you act like a five-year-old and other times you look like an eighty-year-old man. It's so confusing to keep up with your actual age," she replied as she started walking down the stairs.

"You're hilarious," Dean sarcastically told her as he walked by her sides.

"Oh, but I'm being serious."

"I know your serious face and that ain't your serious face," Dean accused, to which she couldn't help but chuckle at. "What's in the bags anyways?"

"Oh, just a couple of things I bought," she simply answered, causing Dean to frown in confusion as they made their way to his beloved Impala that was no longer parked next to her twins.

"What kind of things can you actually buy in a hotel?" He asked as he unlocked and opened his car. She opened the backseat's door and tossed her two black plastic bags next to the other and tinier one on the backseat.

"Well, you might have noticed that there were a few stands," she hesitantly replied as she looked over at him as he was propped up against the trunk's side, just next to her.

"You're telling me you bought one of these by-products?" Dean asked, his eyebrows raised up on his forehead as he watched her.

She closed the door and looked down at her plastic cup of coffee before looking up at him with a wincing expression, "Just a couple of t-shirts and some trinkets."

"Good," he shrugged and Kate's eyebrows knit together as she was completely taken aback by his calm reaction.

"Good?"

"Yeah. Good," he simply said.

Kate put her cup of coffee on the Impala's rooftop and crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him before she asked, "Is this when I'm supposed to chant the exorcism?" Dean laughed, shaking his head. "I'm serious, here. What happened to you?"

Dean licked his lips and then turned so he could face properly the young woman, "Nothing. I just realized that you were right when you said what you said about these fans and what they think of Sam and me."

"What made you realize that?" She asked, genuinely curious to know.

"To be honest, a few things," he replied, his eyes looking right into hers.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," she softly smiled up at him before she moved her gaze towards the hotel and saw the brown-haired actress walking down the stairs with a few other people. "You're sure you don't wanna stop by the Hooters later?"

"What, why?" Dean asked before following her gaze and spotting the actress. "Oh. Yeah, I'm sure."

"Who would have known that after all these brown-haired hook-ups, brunettes actually weren't Dean Winchester's type," Kate joked, her eyes still looking over at the people.

"I never said brunettes weren't my type," Dean replied, looking down at her.

"So, why did you get rid of her number?" Kate asked, looking up at him with slightly frowned eyebrows. "It makes no sense if brunettes are actually your type-"

" _Not_ any brunette, Cherry," he cut her off with a little smile, his deep voice creating shivers to run up her arms as his green eyes looked right into her brown ones.

She opened her mouth, trying to say something in return, but finding nothing to say until Sam's voice appeared, causing Dean to step back and Kate to let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding back.

"For a fan of Supernatural, you're a lame one, Katie."

"W-what?" Kate asked, turning to look up at Sam as he approached them.

"You've read the books, yet you didn't know where the Colt was," Sam told her, causing both Dean and Kate to frown in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"It's a long story, but I got a lead on the Colt," Sam replied in a casual tone.

"What?" Kate and Dean asked in sync, their eyes round in surprise.

"Apparently, it was mentioned in one of the books who Bella gave the Colt to," Sam briefly explained and seeing Kate's dumbfounded expression, he continued. "It was said in about two lines, so it's alright if it didn't really stick with you."

"God, I'm sorry… If I had been more focused on these tiny clues while reading the books, the Colt would already be with you-"

"Hey, no need to feel bad," Sam quickly told her, dropping one hand on top of her shoulder which caused her to look up at him. "We're not asking you to always be on alert when you read something… Just like we're not asking you to be a tough girl twenty-four seven," Sam gently reasoned before glancing at his brother who was quietly looking at them.

"But, that's what hunters are supposed to be, isn't it?" Kate responded, her brown eyes looking into his hazel eyes that looked even green with the bright sunlight.

"You're not a hunter, Kaitlin," Dean frowned, causing Kate to turn to him.

"But I've hunted – I _hunt_ things," she corrected herself. "So, that ought to make me a hunter."

"No. That doesn't make you a hunter," Dean stated, his tone nearly stern as he advanced towards her while Sam looked at him, his brow slightly furrowed. "Sam and me, we're hunters. You're not."

"Why? Because I haven't technically killed any creature?" Kate frowned. "Dean, it's the same. Sending a demon back to Hell or sending a ghost away, that's the same thing-"

"It's not," he cut her off, before throwing a glance up at his little brother. "Sam?"

Sam didn't know what to say. He understood why Kate was asking herself all these kind of questions, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurt his brother's deep and sincere wish for Kate to never become a real, full hunter. But, unlike Dean, he didn't live in these kind of fantasies. Unlike Dean, Sam knew very well who Kate was now.

"Sam?" Kate turned her head to look up at him.

"You're… You're a person who helps, Katie," he gently told her, causing her to exhale a soft sigh as she lightly nodded.

"Now, that it's settled. Can we go after the Colt?" Dean suggested before Kate turned to him and gave a firm nod, causing him to walk around the Impala so he could sit at his driver seat.

Sam watched the young brown-eyed woman as she silently got into the backseat and then he climbed into the passenger front seat. Dean started the car and drove off as Sam recounted what Becky had told him about the Colt, hoping that it would also help him forget that thought that he had been having in the back of his head for some while now.

The thought that he tried not to share with his big brother because he knew that it would probably hurt him more than he would want to admit.

Kate was a hunter now, and there was nothing they could do to change that.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Well, this author's note is gonna be kinda weird, but here it's needed so here it goes.**

 **I want each and everyone of you to know that when you gave my story a shot, you gave this story a chance to go this far. I want each and everyone of you to know that when you gave my story a shot, you gave me something special that I can't explain but I'm sure every writers on this website or else where know.**

 **I will always be thankful and touched by every single words you've left me through reviews or PM, just like I will always be thankful for those following, favouring and doing all these kind of things for this story and for little old me.**

 **I will always be truly thankful and sincerely touched that you guys stood by me even when my writing wasn't at its best when I first started writing this story. I will always be strongly thankful and deeply touched that you guys kept on supporting me and making me want to write more and more.**

 **I want you all to know that because of all your amazing support, I will not stop this story until you get what you all have been wanting to read. I will not stop this story until you get the ending you want to read – the ending you deserve. And, don't worry, Katie still has plenty to tell just like our boys do!**

 **But, the thing is that life has been kinda uneasy lately. Just like Kate or most of us, I've got my own inner demons and lately they've been showing up all at once, so I gotta try to find the strength to fight them back before it all gets out of control…**

 **So yeah, I haven't been feeling well for some time now and I know that when this happens I need to rest my body and soul away from everything. Therefore, I don't think there will be a new chapter before a while (again, I know and I'm really sorry). I truly hope that it won't take more than three weeks for me to get myself back on track…**

 **Please forgive me all for doing this to you while you've all been so faithful to me and my story…**

 **Take good care of yourselves and of your precious ones,**

 **A.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note :**

 **This chapter is dedicated for the most loyal and beautiful betareader that ever was 'Igotzapped' ! Thank you for your amazing friendship, your outstanding support and your neverdying care that makes you one of the best human I've ever had the chance to meet. You inspire me in so many ways, and it's definitely thanks to you that this story went this far.**

 **And, it's also thanks to you dear readers. So, please enjoy this wonderfully edited chapter of You Better Run II that takes place between the episode _'The Real Ghostbusters'_ (5x09) and _'Abandon All Hope'_ (5x10) !  
**

* * *

 _ **One month later.**_

 _ **Garfield, Kansas.**_

 _ **In the middle of a dark highway.**_

The loud honking of a truck driving opposite them, towards them, made Dean wheel the car to the bumpy roadside, startling Sam, who looked back and forth at the truck and then at Dean who kept driving too fast and reckless as ever.

"Dean!" Sam shouted at his brother. "We won't make it if you drive like that!" Dean clenched his strong jaw and drove his car back into the smooth road. "We won't be able to save Kate if we die beforehand!"

Dean ignored him, stepping harder on the gas and tightening his grip around the steering wheel. Sam watched him, eyes full of concern and also compassion.

"Dean, I'm scared for Kate, too! I wanna get there in time... But what if it's too late, what if-"

"It's not too late!" Dean cut him off in a growl, sending him an almost glare before returning his nearly teary green eyes back to the road. "I won't let it be too late! You hear me?"

* * *

 _ **Three days ago.**_

 _ **Garfield, Kansas.**_

 _ **At The Seventh motel.**_

A lot can happen in a month.

Just like a lot can happen in a minute.

That was what Kate's father used to say, trying to make her understand that changes were inevitable. No matter where you went, changes would always occur. Even trying to remain in a sweet routine in order to avoid changes always ended up being a waste of time and energy. Truth be told, the consistency itself was at the same time a result of changes and a source of new changes. Surely, Kate knew her father was right about this point just like he was right about almost everything he ever said to her. This past month had been filled with a lot of changes, and although it had mostly been the case since she landed in this universe, Kate was quite certain that this past month topped it all.

Indeed, not only did Sam and Dean give her fighting training lessons that were more intensive than the ones Matt had given her, but she also learned how to properly shoot with a gun. Dean had been quite against that latter lesson, so Sam had been the one to give her those shooting lessons that he knew she needed in order to insure her safety at all times. Half of those training sessions had been held at Bobby's place while the other half had happened in one of Rufus' old cabins in a forest not far from the state of Oklahoma. Although these training sessions had extended themselves all along that month, other activities had filled the trio's days and nights.

After Becky had told Sam that the thief Bella had given the Colt to a demon named Crowley, the trio had rushed to Bobby's place where Kate had taken the 'Supernatural' books out of their hiding-place in her room so that she could check Becky's words. Once they all realized that the diehard fan was right, they had focused their research on finding that crossroad demon. It had become the mission on top of their to-do list, especially after Kate had declared having already finished her second thorough study onto her situation and onto what Dean had said about her blood. The thing was that Kate had found something even before the 'Supernatural' convention, but she had kept quiet about it.

Anyways, it wasn't the right time to add this to the plate. Kate was even more aware of that fact after what Dean had said back then at the 'Supernatural' convention. This past month, she had tried to not think about Dean's words, but she hadn't been able to help herself. Plus, she always knew that she was another burden for him, his brother and everyone else she had met in this universe. She knew that. But, she tried her hardest not to think too much about it. However, being aware that sending her back to her universe was on Dean's top to-do list, got her to sleepless nights spent overthinking about that very fact. Truth be told, the reason Kate didn't bring up the discovery she made when restudying her situation was simply because she wasn't ready to leave this place and these people she grew to care so much about.

Because this discovery was a pretty big turning point in Kate's situation. This discovery had shown her that there was a way to get round Chronos and his deal, and return to her original universe by using another method. Sure, there seemed to be the never ending problem of the doorways being closed, but she believed that they wouldn't remain closed. After all, they did open once to let her in this universe, even though the reason and the purpose remained as mysterious as everything else surrounding her situation.

However, this past month Kate didn't think more than once about that.

All she found herself able to think about was Dean and the way he had said that they had to send Kate back to her original universe. On several times, Dean acted in such a way that got Kate believing that he actually enjoyed liked having her around. Some nights, her final thoughts were that maybe he truly was speaking about her when he was sick and mumbled that he didn't want her to go.

All in all, this past month had been filled with a lot changes, questionings, researching, training and some self-doubting that Kate was sadly too accustomed with. But, she didn't have time to focus on that last point, because the Colt's research grew bigger and bigger every day, and they had to keep their focus on that and only that. Even when Sam had found a couple of cases not far away from the cabin they were staying at, Dean had made sure that some other hunters took care of these cases. The major mission remained finding the weapon that could give them a shot at killing the Devil. Unfortunately, this major mission had turned out to be much more difficult than what they had expected it to be. No matter how much effort they'd put in, that Crowley demon seemed impossible to find, and it was slowly exhausting them all.

As tired as they all were these past few days, Sam and Dean still found the strength and energy to squabble like two kids, which only drove the young woman crazy. So, when she found a case just a couple of cities away from the cabin they were staying at, Kate did her best to convince Dean to not send another hunter over there. She hoped that taking care of a case would give them something other than the hard-to-find demon to think about, and above all else she hoped it would make them stop squabbling to the point of giving her headaches.

Exhaling a long sigh, Kate dropped her black shoulder bag on top of the desk at the motel's reception hall when an old man made his way to behind the desk. "Long day?" He chuckled at her.

"Long month," she sighed, turning her head and looking over at the parking lot where she could see Dean doing all he could to prevent Sam from getting his duffle bag from the Impala's trunk.

"Those are your kids?" The old man joked, causing Kate to scoff as she turned her attention back to him.

"Believe me, if they were, I'd put them up for adoption," she responded and the old man let out another chuckle.

"That much, huh?"

"Lately, yeah," she nodded. "Anyways," she took out her tiny wallet filled with fake papers among which there were a fake ID, a fake driving license and a fake credit card. She slipped out the latter card and held it out. "Um, do you have rooms with more than two beds?"

"No, sorry. I got rooms with one single king bed or two queens," he explained and Kate bit on her bottom lip before he continued. "Although, I do have a few family rooms."

"Family rooms?"

"Yeah, you know, basically the same kind rooms as the ones with queen beds, but there's additionally an adjacent room for the parents," he told her before looking over her shoulder to Sam and Dean. "Although, I think the beds are tinier in there and the taller one would have his feet hanging at the end."

Chewing on her lip, Kate considered that information for a couple of seconds. Sure, this kind of room would allow her to have the intimacy that had been missing in her life lately while still keeping her away from lonesome feelings that hit her whenever she was on her own. Besides, she was pretty sure Sam wouldn't mind having his feet hanging at the end of his bed, if it meant that Kate would get a comfortable bed. As for Dean, it was quite another story.

"I'll take a family room," she declared, handing him the credit card and mentally preparing herself for Dean's reaction.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

 _ **At the Brenton's dinner.**_

There was no better idea than to go get dinner earlier than planned to calm Dean down. Not that he was truly upset or anything, but when he and Sam found out what kind of room Kate had booked them all in, he had spent quite some time complaining about how short the queen beds were; because of course Kate was taking the adjacent room with the king size bed for herself. Unlike Sam who was sort of used of having his feet hanging at the end of the bed if his body was stretched in length, it was a bit of a foreign situation for Dean, who made sure to express his displeasure at the situation.

As Kate and the two brothers slid into the window booth, the brunette looked across the table and she noticed the glances that Dean threw her way.

"What?" She asked.

"Why do you need to have a room on your own?" Dean asked in reply. He had already asked this same question a good number of times when they were back at the motel, simply because it was weird for him. After all these times spent sharing a motel room all together or even a cabin's small living room, Dean couldn't understand why Kate would need to have her own room, apart from them.

"Dean, leave her alone," Sam sighed, mimicking Kate as he took one of the menus that stood in the middle of the table. "We're with her 24/7, she needs her privacy, too."

"Yeah, I get that," Dean replied, moving his green gaze away from Sam to look at Kate whose eyes were skimming the menu in her hands. "But, why now?"

"Because I can," the brunette simply responded, keeping her gaze focused on the menu. When Sam glanced up at his brother, he couldn't help but chuckle at the expression of surprise on his big brother's face. "Besides, I'm tired of sleeping on a couch that is most of the times uncomfortable."

"Well, we can still share a bed," Dean suggested in a casual tone.

Both Sam and Kate lifted their gazes up at the green-eyed man sitting across them. While Sam was slightly amused by Dean's suggestion, Kate was embarrassed. Sure, Dean and she had shared beds in the past, but it had been months ago, and it had happened only a few times. Plus, Kate who never thought anything of these nights, had come to feeling as these sharing bed arrangements were now out of question. She wasn't even certain of the reason. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that they didn't find themselves in the same kind of situation that'd put them into sharing a bed for the time of a night? Or, maybe it was something else. Whatever the true reason was, Kate felt like these bed sharing moments were inappropriate now that they knew each other better. How paradoxical it was to know that she wasn't against the idea of sleeping in the same bed than Dean when they weren't as close as today, and now it became nearly impossible for her to do so.

If Kate were honest with herself, she would admit having no trouble sharing a bed with Dean. But, she still felt like it would be inappropriate for her to fall asleep right next to the man who wandered in dreams that she'd rather keep quiet about. Not that she was uptight to the point where she forbade herself these kind of fantasies. After all, she was a healthy young woman who could dream and fantasize if she wanted to. But, she didn't even desire those kind of dreams. Although countable on the fingers of one hand, those dreams would still make her feel quite uneasy. Besides, in all her life she had never ever had these kind of dreams about a friend of hers, and that was the main thing that got her blushing when thinking about those specific dreams. All she could do was keep telling herself that those dreams didn't mean a thing, and all that was to blame was the 24/7 presence in her life of Dean Winchester, his good looks and his constant surprising personality that got her smiling more than once everyday.

"Sharing a bed? Like you and Sam sharing a bed so I can have my own?" Kate inquired, even though she knew what he actually meant.

"Hell no, I'm not sharing a bed with that giant," Dean scoffed, grabbing a menu on his own. "He'd roll over me and crush me to death."

"Like I'd even wanna share a bed with you, gas machine," Sam retorted, slightly glaring at his brother.

"Gas machine?" Dean asked, confused.

"Yeah, everything you eat is like a refill for a time bomb that primes farts when you're sleeping," Sam replied and Dean gave an outraged face at him.

"I don't fart when I'm asleep," Dean frowned at his little brother.

Kate rolled her eyes at them as Sam and Dean continued their argy-bargy as though she wasn't even there. There were times when Kate would do anything to spend as much time as possible in these boys company, but lately it was far from being these times.

Slamming the menu closed, Kate stood up almost abruptly, surprising the two young men who looked up at her.

"Where're you goin'?" Dean asked her.

"At a peaceful place where that conversation about farting would, paradoxically, never happen," she replied, her slightly sarcastic tone making both Sam and Dean frown before she walked away from the table.

The Winchesters watched her as she stopped in front of a young waiter and said something to him before she walked off to the bathroom and disappeared behind its door. When Sam shifted his bright hazel eyes towards his brother, he couldn't help but scoff.

"What?" Dean asked, tearing his gaze away from the bathroom's door.

"Nothing," Sam smirked, looking down at the menu. Dean stayed silent, staring at Sam's face as the smirk remained unbroken. Sensing Dean's orbs on him, Sam looked up at him, "What?" Dean didn't say anything, just bluntly stared at him. Sam sighed, "You're gonna act like a kid and stare at me all night long?"

"No. Just until you tell me what's on your mind," Dean simply replied.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, even though he was pretty sure of what his brother meant.

"That scoff and that smirk," Dean replied with a nod of his head towards Sam. "What were they even about?"

"That's what's bothering you?"

"Yeah. That's what's bothering me," Dean snapped.

"Huh," Sam scoffed again, causing Dean to get even more annoyed.

"I swear to God, Sam, if you don't-" Dean began when Sam cut him off.

" _Well, we can still share a bed_ ," Sam mimicked in the casual tone Dean had used, and it got Dean to slightly frown. "What the hell was that? I mean, sure you guys have already shared a bed like once, a long time ago," Sam continued, causing Dean to tilt his head as a little voice in his head whispered 'more than once, Sammy'. "But, that's not a reason for you to offer that. And, quite frankly you used to have better pick-up lines, Dean."

"Pick-up lines?" Dean repeated, more than confused now. "Wait. You think I was hitting on Kaitlin? I-I wasn't hitting on her," Dean stammered as Sam's eyebrows slowly lifted up.

"If you say so," Sam simply replied before putting his attention back onto the menu, another smirk now playing on his lips.

Dean didn't have the time to point it out at his brother as a mid-aged waitress with red hair that was streaked with gray, approached them, order pad in hand.

"Good evening gentlemen," she smiled at them.

"Hi," Sam smiled up at her. "Um, is it possible to wait a little bit longer? Our friend just went to the bathroom."

"A pretty girl with short curly hair?" The waitress asked.

"That'd be her," Dean immediately replied, causing Sam to snort that got Dean to threw a glare at him.

"She already gave her order before going to the bathroom," the waitress informed.

"Oh, good. Then, I'll, uh," Sam replied before clearing his throat. "I'll take the chef salad and a coke."

"Great choice," she quickly wrote down the order and turned to Dean. "And, what about you, sweetie?"

"I'll get..." Dean trailed off for a few seconds as he skimmed the menu. "I'll get the bacon double cheeseburger and a nice fresh beer," Dean replied, looking up at the woman who gave him a warm smile as she nodded.

"Alright. That'd be all?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"Alright. I'll take these from you, then" she said as she took the menus off the table and walked off, causing Dean's line of vision to land at the television hung on the wall just a few feet away from their table.

The second the waitress left, Kate stepped out of the bathroom, her head was lowered as she opened a text message she had just received from Matt. Suddenly, she bumped into a young waiter, causing her cellphone to drop on the floor.

"I-I'm so sorry," the young waiter stammered as he quickly bent down to grab it.

"No problem," Kate gave him one of her gentle smiles as he handed the device back to her. "Thanks," she said before quickly frowning when she saw that her phone's screen was all black and wouldn't turn back on.

"Oh, don't tell me, I broke it?" The young waiter asked, a bit of concern echoing in his voice as he watched her trying to switch her phone back on, in vain.

"It's no big deal," Kate reassured him, glancing up at him. This dark-haired young man couldn't be older than nineteen years old, but when Kate met his gaze, he looked much older.

"If you allow me, I could check it?" He offered. "I'm pretty good when it comes to tech stuff."

"Sure. Why not?" Kate handed him the device.

"I'll bring it at your table," he told her and she nodded at him before heading for the table where Sam and Dean were now quiet.

"You guys ordered?" She asked, sitting down next to Sam who was now reading a newspaper that he got earlier.

"Yeah," Dean replied, his eyes focused on the television hung up in a corner of the dinner's. Kate looked at him to see that, just like Sam, he had taken his jacket off. She decided to do the same and took off her denim jacket so she could be in only a beige t-shirt. Then, she turned her head and looked up at the television.

The television was mute, but the images were enough for her to understand what was holding the elder Winchester's attention. The television was on a news channel, and from the words written in big and red, she understood what the reporter was talking about with such a concerned face.

Nasa had just announced that so far, this summer was the warmest worldwide since it started keeping track in 1880. And, since they were only in the middle of August, it could still get hotter and hotter.

Spinning her head back to Dean, Kate wondered if the same thought was wandering around in his mind. She wondered if, just like her, he suspected Lucifer to be the reason of these high temperatures and all these other disasters that the planet seemed to be going through more and more ever since the Fallen Angel got out of his Cage.

When Dean's eyes slightly got round, Kate turned her head again, only to read that a high number of people died because of these abnormal temperatures. She slowly moved her head to look at Dean again, and she stopped wondering when she saw guilt splashing all over his face as he clenched his jaw. The brunette threw a glance at the younger Winchester at her left and she was rather relieved that he was concentrated in reading the article about the case they came for.

Returning her brown gaze to Dean, she felt her heart stung at the expression on his face. After a whole month without really taking any interest in what was on the news because they had to keep their entire focus on finding Crowley and therefore the Colt, this flashnews was like a slap hitting Dean on the face. As a matter of fact, it was even like a wake-up call, reminding him even more how important it was for them to find the Colt and take the Devil down. But, at the same time, it was also reminding him how much his brother and himself were to blame for the Apocalypse. She knew better than anyone else how they had been manipulated by the angels into doing that, but she also knew that neither Dean nor Sam cared about that detail. They believed it was their entire fault, no matter what. Kate knew that it would take more than a few kind of words of hers to make them think otherwise. They needed to forgive themselves, and they needed to do this on their own. It would be the only way for them to make entire peace with themselves, and also to each other.

No longer being able to watch this expression displaying on Dean's face, Kate decided to say whatever came into her mind, "So, I ordered a chicken ceasar salad and an orange soda, for a change." Seeing that Dean's attention wasn't pulled away from that television and the bad news that was eating him from the inside, Kate continued rambling. "My cousin, Alina, drinks orange soda all the time. I always prefer coke or beer to any soda with pulp in it actually. But, I don't know, tonight, I felt like getting this instead. It's like a tribute to her and the way she used to-" Kate abruptly stopped and that was when both Sam and Dean turned their attention to her. "I'm talking about her as though she's dead," Kate whispered, her eyes falling to the white table surface.

"Here you go," the waitress said as she stopped at their table, put their drinks down and walked off as quick as she had come to their table.

Kate's eyes were immediately on the orange soda, staring at it in a way that caused genuine concern to grow in both Sam and Dean.

"Um, you wanna swap for my coke?" Sam offered and Kate lightly shook her head, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Um, excuse me?" The young waiter approached their table, Kate's cellphone in hand. The brunette looked up at him and he gave her a little smile. "I got it to work."

"Oh. Great," she replied as he handed it back to her and she reached out to take it from his hand. "Thanks."

"Yeah, um your food will be there in a few," he told them before walking off.

Kate put her cellphone down on the table and she looked across at Dean. His face no longer held that expression of guilt that the flashnews brought back in him. Now, there was a soft concern on his face and she knew that it was due to the way she spoke about her cousin.

Clearing her throat, Kate grabbed her orange soda and took a long sip of it before grimacing. "Yuk. I was right, her taste in drinks is as weird and bad as her taste in boys and TV shows." Dean's lips curled into a tiny corner smile as he watched the brunette putting the soda back down on the table. She looked over at Dean and said, "Actually, you and Alina would get totally along. She's as big of a fan as you, of medical drama TV shows "

"It's guilty pleasure," Dean mumbled, taking his beer up to sip on it.

"Wait. Alina... Isn't that the cousin you told me you stole a car with?" Sam asked and Dean's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"That's something I didn't know about."

"Yes, this Alina, and it wasn't really stealing, since it was her ex-boyfriend's car," Kate replied, in defence. "It's actually a funny story..."

And that was how they ended up chatting for hours in that dinner instead of talking about the case. Nevertheless, none of them felt guilty about it since they had already gathered quite a lot information about that case before driving up to this city. Moreover, this conversation full of reminiscence from both Kate's past and the Winchesters' past took a great part of the burden full of tension that the search for the Colt had brought to the three of them this past month. It felt good to relax, laugh and share stupid memories around a good meal. It was all they didn't even know they needed so much and it came to both Sam and Dean that this wouldn't have happened if Kate wasn't there with them. It came to both Sam and Dean that a lot wouldn't have happened if Kate wasn't there with them.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **At The Seventh Motel.**_

Drops of sweat formed at the back of her neck, slowly streaming down under her grey t-shirt and tickling her, but it didn't affect her focus. She kept her brown gaze glued on him, clenching her fists and biting on her bottom lip before he threw a punch at her stomach but she avoided it by swiftly leaping to the side. Then, he attempted punching her face but she quickly bent down to avoid his punch. She swept her leg out to take his feet out from under him, but he jumped out of the way, causing her to groan and stand right back up to throw a kick at him with her right leg. However, her leg was caught in his strong hands, she tried to pull away but his grip grew tighter. She glanced up at his freckled face covered with sweat and then decided to try that thing he had taught her weeks ago. She pushed on her free leg and used his own strength that was holding on her leg, to throw a kick at him. It caused him to break the grip around her leg and step back while she abruptly fell on her bottom instead of falling back on her feet like he had taught her. Seeing his feet getting closer to her, she quickly grabbed the closest object within easy reach and threw it at him. The object – which happened to be a pillow - distracted him long enough for her to put as much strength into pushing on his legs and making him lose balance and finally fall on the floor.

Panting, the brunette stood up and looked down at the green-eyed hunter laying on his back with the pillow in his arms. He looked up at her and saw her smirking down at him before he threw back the pillow at her. She caught it and in a swift movement, he was back up to his feet and he was back into throwing punches at her, making sure to never let any of his blows touch her. It wasn't about creating bruises on her creamy face, it was about teaching her how to defend herself.

Letting the pillow drop on the floor, she did try to defend herself, but his punches seemed to get quicker and quicker, and after over an hour of intense training, she was now getting exhausted.

"Fight back!" He shouted at her, but his speed wasn't allowing her to do anything but avoid his punches. "Kaitlin, fight back!"

Although she was really tired, the brunette decided to put an end to that training session and she knew that the only way to do so was to win that fight against Dean. With quite some strength, she made a technical movement that she learned back when she was taking karate lessons in her original universe, and got Dean to step back. Then, she swiftly kicked him in the legs and with one leg attempted to sweep him out of his feet again. Dean fell backwards in a thump, and Kate quickly went to straddle his waist, causing Dean to groan in surprise.

He looked up at her and she gave him another smirk, before he rolled them both over and he was now the one hovering her.

"I still won, right?" Kate immediately told him, looking up at him as she panted.

"No," he replied, looking down at her face. "To win, you gotta kill the son of a bitch, not smirk at them."

"Oh c'mon," Kate groaned, shutting her eyes closed while Dean's eyes traveled down to her chest that was rising up and down with the heavy breaths she was taking in and out. As he moved his gaze back up to her face, he lingered on the flush on her neck and her cheeks. The beauty spots she had on her neck and the one she had on one cheek held his attention.

The ringing of her cellphone caused her to open her eyes and Dean's gaze was immediately pulled by the sparkling brown color of her eyes, which were shining from their workout.

"Dean... I gotta..."

"Mmh?"

"You're kinda…" She trailed off, traveling her eyes down to his body so he could understand that he was blocking her from getting up and picking up her phone.

"Yeah, right," he cleared his throat and stood up, giving a hand to help her up as well. The second she was up on her feet, her soft hand left his and she quickly went to the round table where her phone was.

"Yeah?... Oh, hey... Really? When?... Okay, I'll tell him... Yeah, see you in a few," Kate hung up and Dean looked at her with questioning eyes. "It was Sam. Another person went missing this morning."

"Where is he?"

"He just left the police station and he's heading here, and asked to be ready in half an hour so we can all go interview the family of the missing man," she explained and he nodded at her, whipping sweat away from his forehead with his forearm. "We gotta hurry, so maybe go shower first while I prepare my suit."

"We'd be quicker if we shared a shower, you know?" He teased her as he went to grab his duffle bag on his way to the bathroom.

"I didn't know you were all about that saving water thing," Kate replied, with a playful tone as she made her way to the adjacent room's door.

"No, you didn't hear me right. I'm just about the saving time thing," he told her and Kate bit on her lower lip as she felt her lips stretch into an amused and slightly shy smile.

"Just go take that shower of yours," she told him, internally thanking God that her cheeks were already flushed red due to the training session.

Little did she know that Dean was also thanking God for being the one to take that shower first.

Because after this training session, he needed a really cold shower.

* * *

 _ **Late afternoon.**_

 _ **At the Local Library.**_

It was amusing to watch.

It was also very strange to watch.

But, Sam still enjoyed watching his big brother staring at their brown-haired friend with such a soft expression drawn on his face. He looked like a five-year-old boy in awe. Other times, he looked like a five-year-old boy in confusion. It was as though Dean was quite unsure of the reasons making him so appealed to that brunette. For Sam, Dean was still trying to decode the mystery that this young woman was. No matter how much they knew about her, no matter how many things they lived together, Dean wasn't past understanding this woman nor his relationship with her. The thing was that Dean never had spent that much time in a woman's company without getting into her pants. Unlike Sam who had made a few good female friends back in Stanford, Dean had never done that. There were times when Sam believed that it was due to the fact that Dean had never had the occasion to spend that much time with a woman and to feel at such ease with her. Other times, Sam believed that Dean didn't want to get himself too attached, in fear of getting hurt. This had come to Sam's realization after he had met Dean's ex-girlfriend Cassie. Their relationship hadn't last long, but Dean had still managed to grow an attachment to the woman. However, Sam thought that it was different with Kate. It was different in so many aspects, and he was certain that Dean knew that as well – or at least the part of him that wasn't denying the way he felt about everything. It was understandable in so much level that Dean didn't want to let his growing attachment for the impossible girl to take its toll on him.

Propped against a wall, a couple of feet away from the exit door, Sam did his best not to let out any snorting or scoffing sound as he stared at his brother whose eyes never looked away from Kate. She was standing at the reference desk, where she was patiently waiting for the old librarian to give her the documents she had asked for in order to solve their case. Turning his head back to Dean, Sam realized that the most amusing was the fact that Kate didn't have to do anything special nor to wear any particular clothes for Dean to stare at her. He would just do.

As Kate's heels clicked on the floor of the quiet library, Sam shifted his hazel gaze towards her. She was carrying a bunch of documents in her arms, the pile hiding half of her face. He quickly stepped away from the wall to help her out, but Dean was faster than him as he took the bigger half of the pile from the brunette.

"Alright, it's all the archives about the mysterious missing people of this town over the last fifty years," she informed them.

"And, she agreed on letting you take these with you?" Dean asked, quirking his eyebrows.

"Well, I can be convincing when I want to," Kate smirked at him.

"We saw you flashing your FBI badge," Sam stated and she sighed heavily.

"What else could I do? She didn't want to give me anything before I told her I was an undercover agent," she half whined, looking back and forth at the two brothers.

"Still," Sam declared as he went to open the doors for Dean and Kate to walk out. "If you want to make a good fake fed next time, you gotta learn how to convince people as a non-fed."

Both Dean and Kate stopped in track and frowned, exchanging a confused look as Sam pulled the door closed behind him.

"I'm sure it sounded better in his head," she half-whispered to Dean.

"I heard that," Sam declared as he passed them by to walk up to the Impala parked not even twenty steps away from them.

"He's not wrong, you know?" Dean told Kate who looked up at him as they walked, side by side, to the car. "Sometimes, you need to come through a tricky situation and you can't always pull off the FBI card."

"I'm aware of that. But, you guys mostly pretend to be feds and nothing else, so why not just keep pretending that I'm a fed to anyone I need to seek information from?"

"Because one day, you might cross path with a real fed. And trust me, Cherry, it won't be that easy to get them off your ass," he explained.

"Good point," she stated, before chuckling to herself.

"What?" Dean asked, amused by her light and melodic chuckle.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "It's just... I never thought I'd ever do any kind of identity fraud, you know? I mean, lying to people, making them believe that we are feds so they can trust us and tell us personal things that might help us find the probable monster that's behind all of this..."

"You can still back off if you wanna," he looked down at her soft profile as she bit her bottom lip.

"No… Even though, it's kinda weird, definitely illegal and something that I never imagined myself doing. I feel…" she paused for a couple of seconds.

"Helpful?" Dean suggested and she nodded.

"Exactly," she replied as a heartfelt smile formed on her lips before she looked up at him. "It's like we're helping making this world a little bit better, brighter and safer."

Dean stared at her, not finding the words to say in return before she moved her head towards Sam who was standing next to the Impala, just a few feet away from them. The younger Winchester was watching them with attention, thoughts swirling in his head, when he saw Kate turning her head towards him and then walking up to him.

It was understandable in so much level that Dean didn't want to let his growing attachment for the impossible girl to take its toll on him. Their hunter life meant that they couldn't get what ordinary people with ordinary lives could have, and Kate was an ordinary person that had to soon go back to her ordinary life, in her ordinary universe.

However, as Sam saw Dean's lips curve up in a tiny smile, he couldn't help but believe that sometimes, some things were worth it. Even things which end was inevitably on its way.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **At the Seventh Motel.**_

When Sam received a call from the police station declaring that they had found a new clue about the case, Dean immediately leapt up and away from the table around which the trio was gathered to research. It surprised Dean more than Sam when Kate declared that she'd rather stay at the motel to continue the research instead of coming along with them. The elder Winchester knew better than anyone else that Kate didn't bear being left on her own. Although he truly believed that she was one of the strongest person he had ever met, he understood that she would fear being on her own. Simply because he knew that even the strongest people, when on their own, their darkest thoughts could come up and give them hell to pay. Dean had asked her three times if she was certain about staying at the motel, and Kate's answer had been the same yes on the three times, except there was an additional roll of her eyes at the third time.

The instant they left, Kate got herself a beer from the mini fridge and two chocolate bars before returning at the table where a few books were laying open around the two laptops that belonged to Sam and Dean. She buried herself back in the research, making sure to put all of her concentration in finding what creature they were dealing with, while silently hoping that no harm had been done to the three missing people.

Nearly two hours later, her cellphone rang, disturbing her great focus as she wrote down a couple of things she found in an old newspaper article on the web. She reached for her phone without tearing her eyes away from what she was writing down with her right hand.

"Yeah?" She answered the call without even checking who was calling.

"Hey," a familiar voice greeted, hesitance audible in the tone.

"Hey Matt," Kate softly replied as she put down her pen and put her entire focus on her friend's call.

It had been months since she last saw him, but they contacted each other through texts or calls whenever they could. Kate had noticed how weird he sounded these past months and it had worried her so much that she had asked both Bobby and Rufus to check on the young dark-haired hunter. They had told her that he was just a bit shaken up because of a few hard hunts and also because of his struggle to convince Rosemary's sister to not unplug her comatose sister's life support. However, Kate felt like there was something else eating him up from the inside. She couldn't point a finger at what it was, but she was certain there was something else, especially after all the weird conversations she had been having with him these past couple of months. Indeed, whenever he called, he made an implication about the situation the world was in, and conspicuously made Kate feel guilty about not saying 'yes' to the angels.

"How are you doing?" She asked him.

"I'm... I'm fine," he lied and it saddened Kate to know that he wasn't even doing any efforts to make his lie sound like the truth. Not that she wanted him to lie to her, but she knew that when someone was at the end of their tether they didn't have enough strength to pretend to be okay anymore. "You're with the Winchesters?"

"Um, not right now. We're working on a case so they went to the police station," she informed him, her voice nearly hesitant as she bit on her lower lip. She did her best not to ask him immediately what was wrong with him.

"They're back to leaving you out of hunts?" He asked and Kate couldn't help but frown. She knew Matt so well, that she knew that this sentence was the kind of one that he would say in a teasing tone if he was doing alright. This time he said it in such a dull tone that she knew she would no longer be able to keep herself from asking him what was wrong with him.

"No, I wanted to stay back and do research," she replied before quickly continuing. "Matt, what's going on?"

" _'What's going on'_?" He repeated, a light and almost bitter scoff following his words. "Over a hundred of people died these past couple of weeks because of the extreme temperature. And, this is just in America."

"I know," Kate whispered in reply.

"I don't even wanna imagine the number of the dead across the world," Matt continued, and Kate pressed her lips together, mentally embracing herself for what she knew was to come next. "Kate, I know we've already talked about this, but... Don't you think that helping the angels will stop this all?"

"No, Matt," she shook her head. "If I agree to become that weapon, then it will be worse."

"How can it be worse, Kate? How can it possibly be worse than old and young people dying because the earth is burning up! They are innocent and they are dying because you believe that siding with the angels will be worse."

"I _know_ it will be worse!" She half-shouted. "I've told you what they've done to me, to Sam and Dean. You already know what they are capable of, Matt. And, you already know that saving the world is the least of their concern. All they wanna do is win that fight against _Lucifer_ , at whatever cost."

"Yeah, well I don't see what's bad in that! Lucifer is the one causing all these disasters! Did you hear about that tsunami in Asia last week? Maybe it wasn't a big one, but it still killed hundreds of innocent people," Matt retorted and Kate ran her free hand in her hair, before holding it up on the top of her head. She knew that more innocent people were dying ever since Lucifer got out of his Cage, but she also knew that Heaven's solution was out of question. "Look, I know you think you're doing the right thing by hiding from the angels and not becoming that weapon, but Kate, you need to think about it more thoroughly. If you become that weapon, you will be more powerful than anything else."

"That's the problem, Matt," she interrupted him. "I've already told you what that archangel told us. If I become that weapon, that _Light_ , and the angels use me, the consequences will be terrible."

"Kate, you only see the big picture, and that big picture is twisted! Don't you realize that if you become that weapon, you will have the choice of what to do with all that power?" He asked and Kate frowned, her hand slowly falling from the top of her head. "You're saying that the angels will use you, but the truth is that you will be more powerful than any other creature. More powerful than the demons, the angels and possibly more powerful than God himself."

"What are you saying..." She trailed off in a whisper.

"What I'm saying is that no angel nor demon will be able to use you like a puppet. And, I don't think they'll even dare trying," he explained, and Kate didn't know what to say. She had never looked at that whole thing in that point of view.

Suddenly, it seemed like becoming that weapon was actually the best solution for this world to be saved. Suddenly, it seemed like becoming that weapon wasn't as lethal as Gabriel had made it sound. Suddenly, it seemed like becoming that weapon was the right thing to do. Yet, Kate didn't feel entirely certain about it.

"I... I didn't tell you, but Sam, Dean and I, we're looking for the Colt."

"The Colt like in Samuel Colt's colt?" He asked, and in that moment he sounded just like he used to.

"Yeah," she nodded even though he couldn't see her. "It can kill anything, so maybe the Devil too."

"No," he stated, going back to sounding dry, dreary and even a bit cold.

"What do you mean 'no'?" She inquired, puzzled.

"It won't help," he simply replied and she opened her mouth to say something when he continued. "Kate, if a colt could kill the Devil, the angels wouldn't need you to become that weapon."

"It's our best shot."

"No, _you_ are our best shot," he told her and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, I wish it was that simple, but I know it's not. Because it can't be that simple."

"It is simple. If you're really willing to save this world, you'd do it," he declared. "But, I get it... It's not your world, so why bother saving it, huh?"

"Matt-"

"No, no, you're right," he cut her off. "This isn't your fight. Even if you can save us all, that doesn't mean you have to... I just... Just forget what I said, okay? I... I'll call you later."

Kate didn't even have the time to reply when Matt hung up on her, leaving her to worry even more about her friend. The more conversation she had with him, the more she realized he had changed. But then again, this world was changing, too. As time passed by, more disasters happened all around the world and they were all left helpless. She was aware of how much responsible Sam and Dean felt, even though they had been manipulated into doing all these things that could lead to the Apocalypse. Gabriel had told them that Sam and Dean had to be the ones to stop this Apocalypse, and surely not Kate. The archangel had explained how powerful the Light was and what it was meant for. But, Kate was realizing only now that becoming this Weapon would provide her of a power that no creature would be able to face; not even the angels.

The ringing of her cellphone broke her thoughts in thousand pieces, and she looked down at it, in between her fingers. The caller ID was unknown, causing her to slightly frown before she answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Kate? Kate? Is that you?"

The brunette felt like her heart stopped beating all of sudden. Her blood seemed to stop in her veins and her lungs seemed to have forgotten how to work. That voice, that familiar voice, it froze her in spot.

"Kate, please tell me, it's you..." The pleading voice on the other end of the line restarted.

Kate shut her watery eyes tightly, as she slowly unfroze from her state of shock.

With a shaky voice, she whispered, "Alina?"

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

 _ **At the Seventh Motel.**_

Biting. Chewing. Licking. Sucking.

Biting again. Then, chewing, licking and sucking.

Biting harder. Then, chewing, licking and sucking frantically.

"If you keep doing that, you're gonna rip your lips out, Cherry," Dean remarked.

Kate's bottom lip popped out of the hold made by her upper teeth as her brown eyes looked up over the dirty-blond-haired hunter sitting on his queen bed, across where she was sitting at the table.

"And, you'll have some explaining to do once Sam sees what you did to his book," Dean continued, throwing a glance at her hand that had been mechanically folding and unfolding one of the old book's page.

"Uh," she pulled her hand away from the book and looked down at her hand. Dean shifted his gaze away from her lips that were redder after all this biting and chewing she had been doing for the past twenty minutes or so, and he looked down at her hand. It seemed to be trembling, which increased Dean's worry for the young woman.

He took his laptop off his lap, stood up and made his way up to the table. He dragged the empty chair right next to her and sat down, his green eyes focused on her.

"What's wrong?"

"Mmh?" She looked up to him and noticed that he was sitting not even a forearm length away from her.

"What's wrong?" He repeated, looking right into her brown orbs.

"Nothing," she looked away and a little frown appeared on Dean's face. "Just didn't sleep that well."

His eyes scanned her whole face and he knew that she was lying to his face. "I would have believed you if you hadn't been acting weird since yesterday afternoon, and if I didn't know your lying face."

"My lying face?" She asked, trying to sound amused, in vain.

"Kaitlin, you know you can tell me anything," Dean told her, his tone as gentle as his hand as he made her look up at him.

When her gaze met his, she was surprised by the amount of sympathy and kindness that these two emerald green eyes held. No matter how many times he had looked at her with these tender expressions, she was always amazed by how full of kindness he could be after all he had been through. If somebody had to be angry at the world for all this pain and sorrow the world put them through, it had to be Dean Winchester. But, no. Dean never showed any anger at the world, certainly burying it all inside with all the other things he buried deep. Keeping those hurtful feelings deep inside of himself, and letting out only the ones he considered bearable for himself, but also the ones he believed would help the others. These latter ones were also the ones he needed so much, but never asked for them.

"Did you have a nightmare?" He asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"No," she whispered in reply. "I just... I thought about a lot of things last night."

"Did you get some shut eye?" Dean asked her, finally understanding why she looked so tired ever since this morning.

"Um," she began hesitantly.

"No, huh?"

"No."

Dean remained quiet for a few seconds as he wondered what could have kept her awake all night long. When Sam and he had returned to the motel the day before, Kate had seemed a bit agitated as though something had just turned everything upside down in her mind. She hadn't even eaten all her dinner while she was one of the rarest women he had ever seen enjoy a full dinner without making sure that she didn't take too much calories in. There was something bugging at her, and Dean hated that. He knew Kate was the kind of woman who thought and overthought a lot, to the point where she could either lose herself in her thoughts or let her thoughts affect her too much. Truth be told, he didn't think it was a bad thing. It only meant that when she cared about something, she did it entirely and sincerely, and Dean liked that. Without that peculiar feature of hers, she wouldn't be the peace bringer that she was to him. Dean knew how selfish that sounded, but he knew that now he had had a taste of this soothing serenity she constantly brought to him without even trying to, it would be hard for him to see it go away. He quickly buried that thought back with all the other thoughts that made him feel unhappy, and broke the silence.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Kate looked at him, wondering if she could tell him about what was tearing her from the inside.

" _Alina?"_ The brunette had whispered, completely shocked to hear her cousin's voice after so long not hearing it.

" _Kate! Please tell me it's really you!"_ The voice at the other end of the line had replied full of distress.

" _It-it's me,"_ Kate had stammered. _"But... How-"_

" _I can't believe it's really you, Kate! You've been missing for so long..."_

" _But, it's not possi-"_

" _God! We all thought you were dead!"_

" _No,no. I'm fine, I'm alright," Kate had replied, feeling the tears forming in her eyes. Then, a smile stretched on her face and the tears escaped her eyes. "It's so good to hear your voice, Ali... But, I-I don't get it. How can-"_

" _You gotta help me, Kate! I don't know what's happening to me! I don't know where I am!"_ Alina had suddenly gone back to crying. _"I was with Tom and then I just... I was here, miles away from home! He said I was brought here for a reason, but I-"_

" _Alina, stop,"_ Kate had interrupted her. " _Slow down and take a deep breath... Alright, now first thing first, tell me how did you get this number?"_

" _I... He gave it to me. H-he said that you needed to know that you had to make a choice."_

" _Who? Who told you that?"_

" _One minute I was in Topeka and then I wake up towns away! I'm in frigging Garfield! And, that man, he told me it wasn't even the same world! He told me you were alive, he gave me your number and h-he-"_

"Ali, you need to slow down!" Kate had told her. "Who are you talking about? Who's that man?"

" _I-I don't know... He looked pretty old and he was wearing a suit, and he... He claimed to be an angel.. I think his name was Zach... Yeah, it was Zachariah."_

Kate had felt herself stop breathing at that very last word. " _What did he tell you... when he gave you my number?"_

" _He... He said that if you didn't want to say 'yes', I'd have to replace you... But, I-I don't get it."_

Kate had then shut her eyes, feeling the weight of that revelation crushing down on her shoulders.

" _Kate, you gotta help me... Can you come to me?"_

" _I...I need a plan. I can't come like that... I'm sorry, you gotta wait..."_

" _Kate, please, I'm so scared... My son, Tom, I gotta go back to him... Please, Kate, help me... Come to me."_

" _Give me one day. I'll come tomorrow, I promise. I won't let you down, Alina. I won't let you down,"_ Kate had promised her sobbing cousin.

When Dean's rough hand landed gently on top of hers, Kate's thoughts popped away. With no word, she looked at him, knowing that he was still waiting for an answer from her. But, how could she tell him about her cousin who had been brought to this universe? If she told him, he would understand that the doors were opened and that Kate could be sent back throughout the spell that included her blood. If she told him, maybe he'll just make her and her cousin perform the spell to go back to her universe. If she told him, she would have to leave, and she knew she wasn't ready to do so. Even though it was what she was supposed to do, she wanted to delay her departure. She wanted to wait at least until Chronos came back to make that mysterious deal. She just wasn't ready to leave this world, even though she knew she had to. On the other end, if she didn't say anything, then Zachariah might manipulate her innocent cousin into agreeing on becoming that powerful weapon. After all, the angels did say to her that anyone from her universe could carry that weapon and thus become that weapon. She couldn't risk having Alina do it instead of her. Alina had a family and friends that loved and needed her. She couldn't let the young Tom lose his mother. She couldn't be that selfish. Zachariah had once told her how selfish she was, and she was starting to believe that he was right. But, she couldn't let him be right. And, above all else, she couldn't let her cousin take her burden.

"Kaitlin?" Dean gently asked, causing her to once again be pulled out of her thoughts.

"Why did you never try to make me say 'yes' to the angels?" She asked in a whisper, her eyes travelling down to his hand on the top of hers.

"That's a serious question?" He frowned and she nodded. His green eyes studied her soft face that never ceased to amaze him. Kate was one of the rare persons he knew all the facial expressions from. It said a lot about how long she had been by their sides and how many ups and downs they had been through together. "Gabriel told us that-"

"I'm not talking about Gabriel," she cut him off looking up to meet his gaze. "I'm talking about _before_ that. You could have talked me into working for the angels, so you could avoid becoming that supreme vessel. Sam and you wouldn't have to run away from the angels, you guys-"

"Do you hear yourself?" He interrupted her.

"I'm just wondering if you ever thought about letting me replace you-"

"What?! No. Never!" He immediately exclaimed, utter shock splashed on his face. His eyes scanned her face for a moment, trying to figure out why she would have such thoughts. "This ain't your job. This is mine. I'm the one who started it all. You have nothing to do with that. And, I know I can't stop you from helping us, but when it comes down to the big fight, I don't want you with us, let alone you replacing me. It never crossed my mind, and it will never cross my mind. Simply because it ain't your responsibility, Kaitlin." The brunette's head was lowering when Dean squeezed her hand, causing her to look up at him. "I swear all I ever thought about is keeping you safe."

Kate looked at his freckled face on which tiny old faded scars could still be visible, from his full lips to his almond-shaped eyes that held emerald-green eyes filled with stories that she knew and others that had yet to be told. He looked more beautiful than on the first days she met him. Her father was right, someone's inner beauty really shone out of them when you got to know them more and more.

"Thank you," she gave a little and soft smile at him.

"Anytime," he replied with a nod. He glanced at his hand still holding hers, and cleared his throat as he pulled it away. "Alright. What do you say we find that son of a bitch who's taking people away from their family?" She nodded, which made him stand up.

She looked at him as he turned around, ready to go back on his bed where he had been doing his own part of the research. He only made two steps when Kate stood up from her own chair, the noise causing him to spin around and look at her with a questioning expression that turned into one of surprise when she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a hug.

It had been a little while since she last gave him a hug, and truth be told Dean had missed them. Her hugs always felt good, comforting, and warm. They made him feel supported and cared of, and for a the time of that hug, he almost forgot what he was and what his life was. For the time of her hugs, he wasn't a hunter anymore. He wasn't an archangel's vessel anymore. He wasn't an orphan anymore. He wasn't a broken survivor of Hell. For the time of her hugs, he was just Dean, and that felt more than good.

When Kate snuggled her face in the crook of his neck, Dean realized that she really needed that hug. So, he wrapped his arms around the waist of the young woman standing on her bare tiptoes and brought her even closer to his body. Thinking that she may have really believed that he would have thought about handing her to the angels to save his own ass from what he was supposed to do, Dean gently stroked up and down her lower back.

With that reassuring comfort, he whispered to her, "It's okay... I'll keep you safe, Kaitlin. I won't let you down."

Kate shut her eyes tightly and bit on her bottom lip, Dean's words making her understand even more that she couldn't let her cousin down.

Kate had no other choice but to save her cousin.

She had to; even if it meant that she would have to become Heaven's weapon.

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

 _ **At the Seventh Motel.**_

It hadn't been that hard for Kate to convince Dean into letting her bring them food from the supermarket ten-minute away from the motel. He had offered to come along, but she had claimed that she would be fine and was actually going to use that little trip to the supermarket to take some fresh air. Fortunately enough, Dean hadn't insisted too much as his cellphone rang and he had to pick it up. Meanwhile, Kate had gone to her adjacent bedroom and took her little bag pack, filling it with some weapons and a couple of necessary demon and angel proof hex bags. She was going to walk out her room, when something crossed her mind as her eyes fell on the motel's notepad on the nightstand. She stared at it for a few seconds before she heard Dean hung up and go to the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she took the pen that was next to the notepad and pressed her lips together as she wrote a few words of explanation. A feeling of guilt mixed to sorrow was starting to boil inside of her, but she ignored it the best she could as she finished writing the note and walked out of her room.

Quiet as a mouse, Kate crossed the main room with the queen beds to get to the front door. She turned the door knob, pulled the door open, and threw what would be her last glance to Dean's leather jacket. The green-eyed hunter was still in the bathroom, which brought a sense of relief in the young woman. She knew that seeing him again before leaving and lying to his face again, would have hurt too much.

When the toilet flush was heard, she gathered her courage and left the room. She walked with rapid, firm steps, repeating to herself that she was going to save her cousin. She was going to save one of the rare people that had been kind, supportive and understanding back in her old life. Alina had always been more than a simple cousin to Kate, she had been an amazing friend; she had been family. Not only had she been helpful and supportive during her tough teen years, but she had also been there for her later on her life. She had come to visit her at Paris more than once, she had taken care of her father when Kate couldn't, and she had even bought Kate's flight ticket to the States when her father's health was going downhill. Alina had always been there for Kate, and there was no way Kate wasn't going to be there for her. She wasn't going to let her cousin take her place in this surreal and reckless situation. It was her responsibility, not Alina's.

Kate was so deeply lost in her thoughts that she didn't see the tall man walking towards her. It was the collision with his hard body that brought her back to reality, but it was the familiar light chuckle that made her look up at him and realize who she had bumped onto.

"Your head's in the clouds, Katie?" The brown-haired man in his dark blue fed suit chuckled as she stepped back, her brown gaze never breaking the eye contact with his bright hazel eyes that held sparkles of green. "Where are you heading?"

"Um, I'm gonna get some dinner," she replied, her voice little and hesitant.

She didn't want to lie to him. It had already been hard to lie to Dean earlier. Sure, she had already lied to them a good number of times, in order to protect them or to spare them the potential hurt and guilt that they would have felt if she had ever told them everything. This time, it was a bit more complicated. Telling them the truth meant risking her cousin's life, and telling them the truth meant showing that she was ready to betray their trust and join the angels if it meant saving her cousin. And, of course, telling them the truth meant informing them that the doorways to her universe were opened and she could go back to where she came from. That latter thought always provoked an indescribable pang in Kate's heart that she was always trying to ignore.

"Want me to come along?" Sam asked, pulling the brunette out of her thoughts.

"What? No, no, no," she hurriedly told him, causing his brow to furrow in confusion. "I'm just going to the supermarket down there. You go back to Dean and you help him with the research."

"Yeah, about that. I think I got a lead," he declared, before frowning with puzzlement at the way her eyes were studying his face now. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," she softly replied, a tiny smile slowly forming on her lips as she looked at his young face and realized something.

Similarly to his brother, Sam had an inner beauty that exploded on the outside. From all of his tallness that could intimidate more than one, Sam was by far the kindest and most compassionate young man she had ever met. He wasn't afraid to show his sensitive side in front of people as long as it brought help and support to people. From the very first day they met, Sam had always been friendly to her, and she had always felt an ease with him that reminded her of the one she shared with her cousin... Her cousin...

"I should go. You know how Dean is when he's hungry," Kate stammered as she remembered that she had to hurry to get to her cousin. Sam watched her, a bit perplexed by the brunette's behaviour. She seemed too agitated and Sam knew her well enough to know that there was something bugging at her.

"Yeah, um, sure," he nodded at her, mentally telling himself that he would figure out what was wrong with her once she'd come back with the food. "See you later, then."

These four simple words hit Kate like a ton of bricks. Not only was she maybe never going to see them again, but she was also betraying them and their trust. Saying 'yes' to the angels was more than a low blow to them and their trust. Their entire fight to save their world was at stake. But, she couldn't let her cousin be taken away from her son, and become that weapon. It wasn't her responsibility. It was Kate's, and Kate knew that she had no other choice.

With no word, Kate made one big step to him and slid her arms under his so she could wrap them around his back and hug him. It was a tight hug that got Sam perplexed and concerned for his friend. He looked down at her, his gaze falling on the top of her brown hair and then travelling down to the tiny bag on her back. He wrapped his own arms around her, right below her bag, and returned the hug.

Then, with his gentle voice that always warmed and reassured Kate, he asked, "You sure you're okay, Katie?"

She bit on her lower lip and took a few seconds before she took a step back, breaking their embrace while keeping her hands on his forearms. She looked up to meet his eyes full of genuine care, concern and benignity. Her eyes roamed his whole face for a couple of seconds and she gave him a tender smile, gently squeezed his arms and nodded in answer to his question.

"I'm just gonna bring us some food," she told him, her voice sounding ordinary enough for Sam to not ask further questions. "And, don't worry, I won't forget to bring you an extra salad for your midnight cravings." He couldn't help the light scoff that escaped his throat, and then they both turned around to go on their own ways.

A few steps away, Sam stopped, turned around again, looking over at Kate as she walked towards the supermarket a few feet away. He called her, causing her to spin around. "You be careful, Katie, okay?"

She looked at him, quiet for a couple of seconds and then she smiled at him, "Just go back to your brother, Sam."

And as Sam turned around and walked up to the motel's building, Kate felt her smile fading away and her heart getting heavy with guilt, sorrow and pain.

But, she knew that she had no other choice.

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

When Sam returned to their room, he found Dean on the phone with Bobby, so he decided to take that opportunity to change into his casual jeans, plaid shirt and boots. While changing in the bathroom, the young Winchester couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering around what happened just a moment ago. There seemed to be something deeply bothering her and he was struggling to figure out what it was. Maybe it was just this case of missing people that was bugging her. It wasn't an easy case and the documents they had brought from the library had shown them that the same events had happened a good number of times in this town over the past fifty years. About six people went missing every five years, and no one in this town seemed to find anything weird about it all. However, this time around, one of the missing persons was a teenage girl of only seventeen years old, and her whole family was more than worried about her. While investigating, the trio had been told more than once by the neighbourhood that this teenager surely had just run away. The fact that this teenager's best friend passed away a month ago, gave the police and the rest of the town the possibility to think that she had nothing to do with the other disappearances that happened lately. Nevertheless, Sam and Dean, and even Kate now, knew better than that. Something supernatural was undoubtedly hiding behind the disappearance of that teenager, and it was certainly the same thing that had taken away the other missing people.

Nonetheless, Sam's instinct was telling him that what was bothering Kate wasn't that case. She hadn't shown any reluctant feeling as to take care of this case, she had researched as thoroughly as usual and she had helped interviewing some people, too. She had shown an undeniable determination to resolve this case, and possibly find the missing persons to bring them back home, safe and sound.

His federal suit in one arm, Sam stepped out of the bathroom, still wondering what could have caused Kate to act that way, when he saw that Dean had finished talking on the phone and was now rummaging through the documents scattered on the table.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, slightly frowning at him as he put his suit on the back of one chair.

"Bobby, he told me that he and Rufus came here a few years ago," Dean told him, taking Sam apart.

"What? And, what did he say about the creature?"

"Well, he thought they got it killed, but when people started to disappear again five years ago, he realized that there was more than one creature," Dean told him, his hands pushing the documents in the search of a peculiar sheet of paper. "He sent a couple of hunters down here and they killed one, but the other one ran away."

"So, we're dealing with the runaway," Sam concluded.

"Yeah, and that's not it," Dean replied. "He said that on the two times, the vics were from the same family."

"So, the creature targets people from the same family?"

"No, that's more than that—Ah!" He exclaimed as he took a piece of paper out of the many documents on the table.

"What's that?"

"A sort of diagram I saw Kaitlin doing when we came back from the library the other day," Dean explained, his eyes rapidly scanning the paper in between his fingers. "That girl is a genius," he half-sighed to himself.

"What? Why?" Sam inquired, walking around the table so he could stand next to his brother and look at the paper. Dean handed it to him and Sam immediately realized what their friend had done.

Kate had drawn a diagram that permitted to show what linked the missing people together over the past fifty years. It seemed that these creatures weren't attacking people from the same family, but people who had lived the same tragedy. The time Bobby and Rufus came to hunt these creatures, a family had lost two of their children in a car accident. The time Bobby sent a couple of hunters to hunt the two creatures that ran away from Bobby and Rufus, a family had lost close relatives who had gone to serve their country. This time around, the missing people were all linked through the local high school. One was a teacher, another was the school social assistant and the teenager was a student. The tragedy linking them all together was the suicide of the teenager's best friend a month ago.

"So, you were right, we're not dealing with a Crocotta," Sam said as he lifted his head and looked over at Dean who was reaching for his laptop.

"No, _you_ were right," Dean replied, bringing the laptop to the table. "It's a Crocotta, just not the usual one. It's a Praetititum Crocotta."

"A _Praetititum_ Crocotta?" Sam frowned as he leaned down to look at what Dean had found in his research.

Dean crossed his arms over his chest, "Read."

Sam glanced up at him before putting one hand on the table and reading out loud the article, "Although the myths and legends state that the Crocotta, or Corocotta, is a unique creature. Many varieties can be found when reading ancient manuscripts; varieties such as the _Praeteritum_ Crocotta –" Sam threw a glance up at Dean who mentioned him to keep reading. "The Praeteritum Crocotta is a type of Crocotta that needs one simple touch to know its victim's personal past, fears and secrets. Its usual strategy is to focus on a group of people is going through the same kind of grief, loss and pain. Once the creature knows its victim, it doesn't need that much effort than an ordinary Crocotta to convince them to come to them. Their method is to use their knowledge of the victim's past in order to build guilt in them and to urge them to come to them. Although some stories say that modern Crocottas are able to control technology devices to call their victims, the Praeteritum Crocotta would relay on contact for that, too. It is important to know that feeding from the souls of its victims allows the Praeteritum Crocotta to have the physical appearance of a young man and live for centuries, always in the search of a more powerful soul to consume—" Sam stopped abruptly, his eyes going round as realization hit him.

"See," Dean started, waving at the laptop. "So, if it's a Praetetititum or whatever Crocotta, we-"

"Dean!" Sam interrupted him, looking up at him with urgency in his hazel eyes. "Katie!" Dean slightly frowned at him. "If there's a Praeteritum Crocotta in town, he's gonna want her."

"But, he can't see her soul, she's got that tattoo that makes her soul look normal!"

"If he touches her, he won't need to see through that tattoo, he'll know everything about her!" Sam exclaimed, causing Dean to quickly jump to his cell phone.

He pressed three buttons and immediately put the phone against his ear, waiting for her to pick it up as Sam watched him with eyes full of worry. Frown expressions appeared on both of their faces when they heard the ringing tune of Kate's cellphone, echoing from the adjacent bedroom. Closely followed by Sam, Dean went to open the door for that room, the ringing tune growing louder and louder as they walked in the room. Dean stopped and hung up when he spotted the brunette's cellphone on the edge of the bed. He turned to look at Sam who was walking towards the nightstand.

"What's that?" Dean asked, his voice almost emotionless as he stared at his little brother holding the paper up to read it.

"It's a goodbye note," Sam replied, swallowing down before he shifted his gaze to his brother who frowned at him.

"What the fuck are you talkin' about?" Dean exclaimed, approaching him and tearing the paper from Sam's hand. He looked down at it, and surely it was _**her**_ writing.

"Dean-" Sam began, only to be cut off by his brother.

"It's the Crocotta. The son of a bitch took her," Dean stated through gritted teeth, closing his fist around the paper. "Come on!"

"Where to?" Sam exclaimed as his brother walked out of the room, the note still inside his fist. "We don't even know where this Crocotta could be!"

"I know," Dean replied, his voice low and dangerous.

All Sam could do was hope that Dean really knew where to find that creature before Kate found it. The words she had written down on that note flashing back in his mind and increasing his fear and worry of the worst to happen.

 _ **They brought my cousin to this universe to use her**_

 _ **as the weapon, and I can't let that happen...**_

 _ **I'm sorry...I'm sorry for doing this to you...**_

 _ **I'm sorry for everything.**_

 _ **You have been more than what I needed.**_

 _ **Thank you.**_

 _ **Kaitlin**_

* * *

 _ **A while later.**_

When Kate parked the blue car by the roadside, she realized how quiet her surroundings were. Her trip from the motel parking lot where she had stolen that blue car, to this road had been filled with so many loud thoughts that she hadn't noticed how silent and empty the road down to here had gotten. She looked outside the window, the darkness of the night not offering her much to see aside from the shapes of the forest trees. She turned to the passenger seat, grabbed her bag, opened the door and got out of the car. She quietly closed the door behind her as she moved her brown gaze up to the old big yellow sign that her cousin told her about in the phone last night. They were supposed to meet around this place. Her cousin had told her that she had found an old cabin in the forest, and she had promised to not leave this cabin until Kate came.

The young brunette took the two knives out of the bag. She slid one in her boot and kept the other in her hand. She swung her bag on her back, reached for the tiny flashlight hung at her waist and took it off before clasping the knife at its place. She switched on the flashlight, took a deep breath and walked into the forest. She could feel her hands shaking, not out of fear, but out of something indescribable. It was a mixture of excitement, sorrow, guilt and something else; something that she couldn't point a finger at. But it was there, deep, raw and hurtful, almost primal. It was something she had only ever felt once, after her assault. It burned through her then, just as burned through her now. This feeling turned her blood to fire and her heart to stone, and all she wanted was to seek vengeance.

To spill blood.

She tried to ignore it all as she put her entire focus in finding the cabin where her cousin was hiding. Her flashlight helped her find some kind of path between the tall trees, but she wasn't even certain of going to the right way. However, she could hear her cousin's voice repeating in her head to come to her. The deeper Kate walked in the forest, the louder the voice in her head seemed to get. And, the louder the voice in her head seemed to get, the more determined Kate felt.

A sudden noise of cracking wood caused the brunette to leap around. She moved the flashlight to that direction where the noise seemed to come from.

"Alina?" She half-whispered, her eyes trying to find spot what had made that noise, but there was absolutely nothing. She sighed and went back into following that seemingly pathway.

It wasn't long before another noise of movement echoed behind her. Kate spun around, her free hand immediately finding its way around the knife hung with the bungee at her waist. "Alina, is that you?"

"Kate!" She heard her cousin's voice call, causing Kate to slowly let go of her weapon as she saw the cabin just a few feet away from her. "Please, Kate... Come to me."

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile.**_

 _ **At the Benton's Dinner.**_

The elder hunter was boiling with anger as he slammed the man against the wall, causing the old waitress to yelp in fear and his little brother to leap at him.

"Dean! Stop it!" Sam shouted at his brother as he tried to pull him away from the plump man. He had to put a bit more of strength to get Dean away from the man. Once Dean finally let go, he shrugged Sam's hands off him.

"What kind of cops are you?!" The waitress cried at them, rushing over to her boss' side. "Dave, you're okay?"

"I told you to tell us where that young boy is!" Dean grunted at the man, ignoring the waitress as his green eyes glared at the restaurant's big boss.

"I-I already told you, I don't know!" The man stuttered. "He's been working with us for just ten days now! He hasn't given us the file back, yet! I-we don't know where he lives!"

When they left their motel room earlier, Sam and Dean had found out that a car had been stolen in the parking lot. From what the people on the parking lot was saying, Sam and Dean had been more than able to put two and two together. Kate had been the one to steal that car so she could find place where she believed her cousin was waiting for her. Once in the Impala, Sam had asked Dean where he thought the Crocotta was, and from the very short sentences his brother gave him, Sam understood that Dean believed the young waiter at the Benton's Dinner to be the Crocotta. It didn't make that much sense for Sam, even when Dean reminded him that this youngster had taken Kate's cellphone to fix it when they were at the restaurant a few days ago. Nevertheless, Dean seemed utterly convinced with what his instinct was telling him, and Sam didn't dare say anything as Dean drove them up to that restaurant. Indeed, the elder hunter was worried about the young brunette, to the point where his worry was no longer worry, but a pure mixture of frustration and rage. Sam was extremely worried as well, but he canalized all this energy to turn things over in his head, in hope that it would help him speed the solving of this case, that would only make them find Kate before any harm happened to her.

"Wait, y-you're talking about the new waiter? Jimmy? Jimmy Lutheran?" A blond teenager girl asked, a few feet behind them.

Dean immediately whipped around to look at this young waitress, "You know him?"

"Not really. He's kinda new in town," she hesitantly replied. "I know some of my friends find him weird. They think he's creepy because he's way too friendly and he looks a lot like the guy who was honoured by the city like fifty years ago." Sam frowned and turned his head to look at the young waitress. "But, I guess what's really creepy is that he lives on his own in a cabin in the middle of the forest."

"Which forest?" Dean snapped at her.

"Um, the one just outside the belt highway, near an old big yellow tourist sign," she replied, looking at Dean with round eyes as he immediately walked out of the restaurant.

After giving quick apologizes for Dean's behaviour, Sam hurriedly followed his brother outside to find him already slamming the Impala's door closed. The younger Winchester ran to get in the black car that Dean started before Sam even got the chance to close his own door.

"Dean, slow down!" Sam half-shouted at his brother as he shut the door and his brother sped the car into the highway leading to the belt highway.

"It ain't time to slow down! That son of a bitch may already be with Kaitlin right now!" Dean replied, his voice rougher than usual as his eyes remained focus on the road and his hands turned the steering wheel rapidly and precisely to make the Impala go past the other cars in a flawless and swift way that could only make them earn more time.

"Yeah, but what if that's not the right guy!" Sam exclaimed, looking at his brother's profile with even more concern.

" _That_ 's the right guy."

"Dean, we don't know that! It's not because he touched Kate's phone and possibly Kate's skin, or because he lives in the forest and he looks like a dude that lived fifty years ago, that it means it's the creature we're looking for!" Sam told him, trying to reason his brother into not rushing in without being certain.

"I saw a picture of that honoured guy! He doesn't look like that waiter, he's the spitting of image of him! Hell, he's him! I'm telling you, he's the fuckin' Crocotta, Sam!" Dean threw a stern glance at his little brother who took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright," Sam nodded, turning his head to look in front of him and he realized that they were already speeding into the highway belt now.

The lights along the highway all began to disappear as the road got darker and darker. With one flick movement, Dean switched on the high beams of the headlights, and Sam could discern a few irregular, weirdly shaped oaks along the way. A sign announced them that they were getting closer to the forest, but it still wasn't that close to where they were. Now that the highway was clear of cars, Dean stepped on the gas, the Impala's engine roaring wilder and the wheels almost screeching on the smooth ground.

Sam turned his head to look at his big brother. Dean seemed angry, but in fact, it was obvious for Sam that his brother was just terrified. He knew his brother better than anyone else, so it wasn't hard for him to read him. Sure, there were times when Sam found himself unable to point at what Dean was feeling or thinking, but most of the times he knew. Just like he knew that what Dean was feeling and thinking whenever he stared at Kate with such big green eyes. And, as Sam scanned his brother's profile right now, he knew that the way Dean had been watching at Kate lately was linked to the hard expression displaying on his face. Sam knew that Dean was terrified at the idea of losing Kate. Sam knew that Dean wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to the young woman they had all grown so attached to.

* * *

The subtle sounds of steps getting closer to Kate from behind, stopped the brunette just a few feet away from the old cabin's door. She could feel a shiver running down her spin, but as the strange noises disappeared, she went back into walking. Nevertheless, her instinct was telling her that something was off. Her instinct was slowly getting the upper hand on the leitmotiv words echoing inside her head. All the 'come to me' her cousin's voice repeated in her head started to vanish. Slowly, everything that she had been taught during all of her training sessions with her hunter friends awoke inside of her. Her hearing focused itself on her surroundings; her steps became more careful, her hand tightened around the tiny flashlight while her free hand reached for the knife at her waist.

In a swift movement, Kate spun around.

Her brown eyes went big and round at what she saw.

There was the young waiter from the Benton's dinner standing right in front of her, his mouth inhumanly wide open to display two rows of sharp teeth.

The creature was rapid as it immediately leapt at her, its strong hands pushing her against a tree.

Kate grunted as her back harshly collided against the tree. She moved her head away, grimacing with her eyes shut as she tried to push the creature away from her with her hand still holding on the flashlight. She brought her other hand up, ready to stab at the creature with her knife, but the creature quickly stopped her by grabbing her forearm and hitting it against the tree until Kate dropped the knife.

"I'm so hungry," the creature roared in Alina's voice, causing Kate to stop fidgeting. It hit her all of sudden that her cousin had never been here. "Your soul will satiate me for centuries and centuries, stranger from another world!"

The angels had never brought her cousin to this universe. It was all a trick from this creature, and undoubtedly this creature was what Sam had been saying all along. It was a Crocotta that somehow saw her soul through her tattoo. It was a Crocotta and it was going to eat her soul.

;;;;;;;

The loud honking of a truck driving opposite them, towards them, made Dean wheel the car to the bumpy roadside, startling Sam, who looked back and forth at the truck and then at Dean who kept driving too fast and reckless as ever.

"Dean!" Sam shouted at his brother. "We won't make it if you drive like that!" Dean clenched his strong jaw and drove his car back into the smooth road. "We won't be able to save Kate if we die beforehand!"

Dean ignored him, stepping harder on the gas and tightening his grip around the steering wheel. Sam watched him, eyes full of concern and also compassion.

"Dean, I'm scared for Kate, too! I wanna get there in time... But what if it's too late, what if-"

"It's not too late!" Dean cut him off in a growl, sending him an almost glare before returning his nearly teary green eyes back to the road. "I won't let it be too late! You hear me? I won't let this fuckin' creature put one finger on her!"

Sam watched him, his eyes gentle as he almost murmured, "But, what if she called the angels?"

"What?!" Dean exclaimed, not understanding what Sam was telling him.

"In her note, she said that she wasn't gonna let her cousin become the weapon. So-" Sam paused for a second. "So, what if she called the angels to trade herself in exchange of her cousin?"

"No," Dean simply replied through gritted teeth. "I'm sure she went for the Crocotta first."

"What makes-"

Dean suddenly slammed on the brake causing his body and his brother's to swing forward on the dashboard. Sam groaned, but didn't say anything as he saw Dean immediately jump out of the Impala. His hazel eyes looked out the window and when he spotted the old yellow tourist sign with the stolen car parked right at the foot of it, he quickly got out of the car.

His big brother was already standing in front of their trunk, arming himself with two sharp knives and a machete when Sam approached him. Dean took a flashlight while Sam grabbed a couple of weapons for himself, and within five seconds they made their way up to the stolen blue car and then followed what looked like a pathway into the forest; a pathway certainly leading up to that old cabin.

Not ten seconds in between the trees, and the two brothers heard distinct noises of fighting. Just one look at each other and then they ran towards that direction.

It didn't take long for them to reach the location where the noise came from. But, when they arrived a few feet away from the cabin, they both stopped in track at what they saw.

Kate was startling the creature, her two hands holding a knife up in the air before bringing it down in one strong and rapid movement. It went right through the creature's neck and the creature let out a growling yelp before it died. But, Kate didn't move then. She remained completely still. Her hand was holding the knife handle with a death grip while the blade was still planted in the creature's neck. Her eyes were fixating right into its eyes. Its eyes had looked strangely old when she had bumped into the creature without even knowing it at the dinner's. But now its eyes looked young, and even human. If it hadn't been for its monstrous mouth, she would have felt like killing a simple, young boy. Truth be told, as she looked right into its eyes, she felt like doing so, and she couldn't even divert her gaze.

"Katie," Sam gently said as he put his large hand on her shoulder. She was slightly startled as she lifted her head up to look at the young Winchester that she hadn't even noticed coming here. "It's done. He's – _it_ 's dead."

"I," She began in a faint voice before she turned her head to see Dean standing, a few feet away. He was holding his flashlight at them, but his arm was slowly lowering down as he watched her from his spot. Kate looked down when she felt Sam's hand slowly take hers off the knife. Her gaze travelled up his brown-clad arm up to him and she saw that he was crouching at her side. She didn't say a word as he helped her up, but when he saw a grimace appear on her slightly bruised and cut face, he frowned.

"You're okay?" He inquired Kate, as he also noticed the way she was trying to stand on her left leg only.

"The girl... She's in there. He told me he didn't feed on her, yet," she told him, ignoring his question.

Sam glanced at the cabin behind him before looking over at his brother, "The missing teen is in there, Dean! She's still alive!"

Dean didn't think twice before rushing to the cabin. Kate's brown eyes followed him before Sam's voice got her attention.

"Can you walk?"

The lack of Dean's flashlight prevented her from truly making out Sam's face now, but it still hurt to hear that much kindness in the voice of the person she had been ready to betray just a moment ago. That feeling that she couldn't describe earlier. That feeling that was mixed with her excitement of seeing her cousin again. That feeling that was mixed with her sorrow of having to leave the Winchesters and all the people she had grown so close to. That feeling that was mixed with her guilt of being ready to side with the angels. She knew what that feeling was now.

"Katie?" Sam asked again.

"Yeah, I can walk," she murmured before trying to walk, but failing as her right ankle had been sprained during her fight against the creature. She almost fell, causing a groan of pain to escape her throat, which instantaneously made Sam understand that she couldn't walk.

"You obviously can't. Come on," he told her as he put one arm around her legs and the other around her back before easily lifting her up.

As Sam carried Kate up in his arms, the brunette realized how much she didn't deserve his kindness after the betrayal she had been ready to do. As Sam carried her in his arms, waiting for Dean to get out of the cabin with the teenager, Kate felt that previously indescribable feeling take over every inch of her body and soul.

Shame.

Utter, profound shame.

* * *

 _ **Some moments later.**_

 _ **At the local hospital.**_

Biting down on her bottom lip, Kate kept her brown eyes focused on the crutches that helped her walking down the corridor. A nurse was walking by her sides, ensuring that the young brunette was getting a good hold of how to walk with crutches.

"I thought you said you've already used crutches," the nurse commented, a friendly smile on her pink lips.

Kate glanced up at her, "Um, it was quite a long time ago. I was a teen back then."

"Oh, I see," the nurse replied, still all smiley. "Well, you won't need to use them more than twenty days, agent. I'd even say not more than a couple of weeks if you make sure to rest well and to massage your ankle with the ointment everyday."

"Yeah, right."

"And, same goes for your bruises. Especially around your left shoulder blade," the nurse added before they both turned to the left to an almost empty corridor. "Here we are."

Kate lifted her head to see Sam, standing up from one of the seats that went the length of the corridor. Their gazes immediately met, and once again she was ashamed to see such genuine kindness in his bright hazel orbs. Kate turned her head to the nurse when she felt her hands gently and slowly propelling her towards the seats.

"As you can see your colleague is doing fine, agent," the nurse told Sam as she helped Kate to sit down. Sam watched them before he moved his attention to the nurse who turned to him, handing out a couple of documents for him to take. "Just a little sprained ankle, and minor injuries here and there, but nothing to worry about. Although, make sure that she takes least three weeks of sick leave before she gets back on the field."

"Of course," Sam replied, looking down at the papers in his hand before glancing over at Kate to see that she had her head lowered down. His brow furrowed at that, but he was quickly distracted by the nurse pulling his attention back to her.

"You'll find all the details about her condition in these two papers, and everything she needs to take for getting better in the other paper."

"Thank you," Sam politely smiled at her.

"Alright, I'll leave you both alone, agents," the nurse smiled at him and then at Kate, before walking off, leaving Sam and Kate alone in that empty corridor.

"How you feeling?" Sam asked breaking any potential silence to settle between them.

The brunette lifted her head and looked up at him with a perplexed gaze. They scanned each other's face. His bright hazel eyes went from the cut just above her right eyebrow to the cut in the corner of her lips, and then to the little bruise forming on her left cheekbone. Meanwhile, her brown eyes travelled all over his face, in search of an explanation for his kindness that she knew she didn't deserve the slightest.

"Why?" She asked, confusing him.

"' _Why'_ what?"

"Why are you asking me this?" She developed, shaking her head. "Why are you asking me how I'm feeling after what I've done to you?"

"What you've done to me?" Sam inquired, his eyebrows shooting up as he was taken off guard by her words that were only getting more confusing. " _What_ have you done to me?"

"I've lied to you. I've lied to you and Dean, and I-I was gonna... You've been there for me, you've helped me through so much. You've done so much and I was gonna betray you. I was gonna do anything that the angels wanted of me. I'm so sorry-" she stopped herself when her voice started to crack.

Sam automatically went to sit down on the seat right next to hers.

"Hey, come on, it's okay, Katie. It's alright," Sam reassured her, dropping one hand on top hers. "I get it. Dean and I get it. This Crocotta was a strong one—"

"It's not an excuse!" She cut him off. "I should've known it was a Crocotta. I've read things about Crocotta! I've read the book about that time when you and Dean went to kill one! Hell, I've even read your father's notes about it!"

"My father's notes?" Sam furrowed his brows and Kate closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"Yeah, I've read your father's journal without you giving me any kind of permission to do so," she admitted, no pride in her voice at all. She then turned her head to look at him. "See, yet another argument to show how I'm not trustworthy. I don't deserve your trust or your kindness or your sympathy or-"

"Okay, slow down here," Sam interrupted her. "First, you gotta know that Dean and I have been thinking about offering you to read our father's journal for a little while now. We know there are some good notes in there that you could use to fill your journals."

"That makes it worse," Kate murmured as she realized that they were willing to show her something as personal as their father's journal that was filled with not only information about hunts and creatures, but also with personal, heartbreaking memories of theirs.

"No, that doesn't," Sam sighed, turning his body so that he could face her properly.

"Of course it does, Sam. I went on your back to read this journal and I-"

"Katie, just drop it," he stopped her. "It's alright. Trust me, I'm not mad that you've read it, and I'm sure Dean won't be mad either. Just like we're not mad at you for what you were gonna do."

"How can you not be mad at me for that?" She asked, her eyes softly confused as they stared at Sam's gentle face.

"This Crocotta, it wasn't a regular one. This one needs one touch to know its victim's past. It uses all this knowledge to build up so much guilt and shame in the victim that nothing can stop them from going to the Crocotta," Sam explained as Kate's eyes slightly squinted as she listened carefully to him. "When the Crocotta touched you, it knew that you were from another universe. It knew that you wouldn't let anyone else become the weapon at your place. And, I guess that when you bumped into the creature back at the diner that night, it triggered all these memories about your cousin. And, well, it just went crescendo when it called you with your cousin's voice." Kate bit on her bottom lip, lowering her gaze as she tried to consider his explanation. "The Crocotta had so much control on you that it almost made you say 'yes' to the angels. It blinded you into thinking that it was the right thing to do."

Kate frowned harder at what he had just added. She licked her lips and pressed them together before looking down at his hand that was still on top of hers. His hand was so large that she couldn't see hers anymore, but she could feel the warmth of his hand on the skin of hers. She could feel the support and gentleness in that little, simple gesture of his, and yet she was still filled with shame.

"So, now that the Crocotta is dead, his spell on me is supposed to be completely gone, right?" She inquired in a soft whisper.

"I suppose," he whispered back.

"So, why am I still feeling ashamed?" She looked up at him, her eyes full of pain.

Sam squeezed his hand around hers and she felt a lump form in her throat as he stared straight into her eyes.

"There's nothing you should be ashamed of, Katie. If anything, you should be proud of yourself. You saved an innocent, tonight. And, once the Crocotta's spell wears completely off you, you'll realize that you didn't do anything to be ashamed of."

Kate was speechless at the amount of gentleness she was faced with. She couldn't remember one single time when Sam wasn't patient, merciful and kind-hearted with her. Even when she offered to locate the Colt with a locating spell a few weeks ago, he gently reminded her that she had promised not to perform any magic spell. Kate couldn't believe that she had been ready to let down someone like him. She couldn't believe that she had been ready to let down the people that put so many smiles on her face, the people that helped her overcome most of her inner demons. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but wonder if she would have truly gone that far if she hadn't been under the Crocotta's control. What would she have done if the angels had really brought her cousin to blackmail into saying 'yes' to them? Would she have been ready to sacrifice herself and this entire world to save her cousin? Would she have been ready to let down all these hunters after all they did for her? Would Sam still be as sympathetic if she had willingly done this?

Slowly dropping her gaze down, her thoughts vanished all at once when she saw his hand still on hers. This young man who had been through so much pain and misery was giving her a strength that he needed more than her, or that even his big brother needed more than her.

Suddenly, it hit her that Dean wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Where's Dean?" She asked in a whisper, scanning the empty little corridor before looking up at Sam.

"He's checking on the teen and her family. They came as soon as we got here," he answered, his hazel eyes discerning some kind of concern in her gaze that got him to slightly frown. "What?"

"Alina... She said that I've been missing for a long time," Kate said in a thoughtful tone.

"It wasn't her," Sam began before Kate cut him off.

"Yeah, I know. But..." She trailed off, frowning as her eyes fell down to Sam's neck and his shirt's line. "I've never looked at it like that, but what if Alina is actually looking for me back there? What if she's looking for me just like this family has been looking for their daughter? I've always selfishly just thought about me. I've never thought that it could have done something to anyone back there. But, after all these months, what if they think that I'm..." She moved her brown gaze back up to meet Sam's hazel gaze. "What if they think that I'm dead?"

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Standing in the hallway, Dean was quiet as he watched through the tiny window the teenager's family embracing her with so much relief and joy painted all over their features. When the hugs were over, the mother never left her daughter' sides as she stoked her hair non-stop while her father held the tiny hand in his. Fortunately, the young teenager hadn't seen the true form of the Crocotta and she didn't want to talk about the calls she thought she had had from her dead friend. The cops didn't question the young girl very much when Dean told them that Jimmy Lutheran was a disturbed youngster that had been searched for by the FBI for about a year now. All that mattered was that she was safe and sound, and she was back to her family.

"Agent!" A cheerful exclaimed, causing Dean to turn his head to the left where he spotted the nurse who had been taking care of Kate, walking up towards him. "I just left your co-workers back in the wing C. You're all free to go now."

"Thanks," Dean gave a little smile as the nurse passed him by to go away. He threw another glance through the window before making his way to the wing C.

The images of everything that happened in just a few hours resurfaced in his mind. It had been one hell of a stressful night. No matter how much Dean knew that Kate's life was safe until at least Chronos came back, he still had felt as though they had been within a hair's breadth of losing Kate tonight. This goodbye note she had left for them and this hug she had given him bounced back in his mind. But, it all vanished away when another terrible image appeared in his mind – Kate startling the Crocotta and killing it. Dean couldn't help but feel guilty about this. If he had been more careful, he wouldn't have left her alone and she wouldn't have gone to the forest. If he had been more careful, she wouldn't have gone to the forest and she wouldn't have had to fight against that creature. If he had been more careful, she wouldn't have had to fight against that creature and she wouldn't have had to kill it. Because of him, Kate was going to have to endure nightmares of this moment. Dean had dirtied her hands by being so careless instead of protecting her. Maybe, he had been wrong all along. Maybe, keeping her by their sides wasn't a good idea.

"Dean," Sam's voice exclaimed with surprise, pulling the elder Winchester out of his thoughts as he realized that he had already reached the wing C of the hospital.

Sam and Kate were standing in front of a row of seats in an empty corridor. Dean's eyes immediately went to the young brunette, travelling from the crutches to her face painted with tiny cuts and bruises. Kate bit on her bottom lip and looked away; something that didn't go unnoticed by the young Winchester. He looked down at her profile before quickly looking over at Dean, standing just three feet away from them with his eyes glued to Kate in a soft indescribable way. But, for watching his brother staring at the brunette all these times, Sam could sense that they both needed some time on their own now.

"Um, Dean, maybe you should help Kate walk to the car while I go check if I can't get her medication from here," Sam suggested, before walking away without letting any of them interject.

Brown eyes followed Sam as he walked away and disappeared at the corner of the corridor, while green eyes remained stuck on the brunette.

"You're okay?" Dean's deep voice asked, causing Kate to shift her gaze and attention to him. She gave a faint nod as simple answer. "You can walk? I mean, with these things?" He waved at her crutches. She gave another little nod. "Good," he stated, nodding. "I'll ask Bobby to make sure you don't walk too much, though."

"Bobby?" She softly inquired, confused.

"Yeah. I'm driving you back at his place," he informed her before turning around, ready to walk again as he added a few final words. "And you'll stay there."

"What?" She asked, taken aback. "What do you mean I'll stay there?"

"I mean you'll stay there until we all find a 200% safe way to send you back to your universe," he replied, still giving his back to her.

"So, that's it!" She exclaimed, causing him to turn around and look at her. "That's all it's ever been about. You've been trying to get rid of me, and now that I've almost betrayed you and Sam, you have a good argument to do so." Dean looked at her with the most confused expression on his face, but it didn't stop her. "I should've known better. You even said it when we were at the 'Supernatural' convention. I should've known that when you found that blood spell, it was only to speed my departure, I-"

"Whoa, slow down!" He cut her off, holding his hands up to emphasize his words. "You think I'm trying to get rid of you? Kaitlin, you should know that it's not that. Hell, if I could I would –" Dean stopped himself short and he diverted his green eyes from Kate's intense gaze for a couple of seconds. "You remember those nights we shared a bed, months ago? There was a night, we spent hours talking, getting to know each other. It was the most normal exchange I ever had with anyone. It was so ordinary, and I suppose that's why it felt so extraordinary for me." A little wistful smile appeared in the corner of his lips before his green eyes went back to look into her brown ones. "My point is that, that night I made a promise. I promised to send you back home, safe and sound. The thing is that the more time passes, and the less I think I'm able to keep that promise."

"Dean," she began, only to be interrupted by him.

"The worst is that I really believed that I could keep you safe!"

"You do!" She interjected. "You keep me safe, Dean."

"Try telling this to someone else and without the crutches, too," he scoffed as she scanned his face.

"Are you actually mad at yourself for what happened tonight?" She asked and his facial reaction was enough for her to know the answer to her question. "Dean," Kate started as she approached him. "What happened tonight isn't your fault. Not one single thing that happened tonight is your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong around you."

"If I had been smarter, I wouldn't have let you go on your own for that grocery shopping and you wouldn't have had to fight against that son of a bitch," he declared, and Kate slowly frowned as she realized what it was all about.

"You're mad at yourself because I killed that creature. Aren't you?" She softly said to him and the way he looked at her, hurt her so much that all of the remaining shame that the Crocotta had created in her, dissipated completely. "Dean, it was self-defence-"

"Still, this fight made you kill. _I_ made you—"

"Don't you dare say that you're the one who made me kill that creature," she cut him off, her voice sterner than ever. He looked down at her and was surprised to see tears slowly forming in her eyes as she looked up at him. "Don't you dare say that I killed because of you. It's not because of you, Dean. And, if you dare saying that my hands aren't clean anymore, I swear I'll use them to slap some sense back into that stubborn head of yours." She took a deep breath and continued, "Killing an evil creature, whether it's a ghost, a demon or a Crocotta, it's not the same than murdering, Dean. Killing these evil creatures means saving innocent people. You should know that better than anyone else. It's not because I've killed a creature that my hands are dirty, just like it's not because you and Sam have killed creatures that your hands are dirty." She managed to reach out one arm and grab one hand of his. "Your hands are clean. _You_ are clean. Sam and you need to understand that."

Dean looked down at her tiny hand holding his, and then he looked up at her face. He could remember so easily those nights when they had shared a bed. He cherished those nights and their simplicity, serenity and normality. It was so strange for him to be sleeping in the same bed than a woman and do nothing but share gentle words and good laughs. However, it now made sense for him that only a woman foreign from his world would be able to bring him such comfort and peace. Dean could remember so clearly the thought that crossed his mind one of those calm nights, when she had fallen asleep before him. That thought was a promise to himself; a promise to keep her safe and sound until he found a way to send her back to her universe. As he looked at her now, Dean realized that he truly wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he had lost her tonight.

"And, you need to understand to never go in a forest on your own, even if you're under some spell that makes you think you are doing the right thing," he stepped closer to her, gently repositioning her hand along her side and one of the crutches.

"If only that was that easy," she muttered to herself, but loud enough for Dean to hear her.

"It will be easy, because I ain't letting you out of my sight anymore," he told her, seriousness in the way he spoke and the way he looked at her.

"I'm sorry, you know?" She admitted in a whisper. "For lying to you and... And almost betraying you."

"Don't worry about it, it's a family thing," he shrugged it off and Kate looked at him with questioning eyes. "What?"

"No, it's just... What you just said. A family thing... I'm—"

"You're family," he finished for her, surprising and touching her so much that her brown eyes sparkled as they looked up at his apple green eyes.

If there was something that mattered the most for Dean, it was family. Anyone who spent at least an hour with Dean, could figure it out. It was all in the way he spoke about his little brother and how smart and incredible he was, the way he recounted funny anecdotes and jokes from Bobby, the way he spoke so greatly of his father's successful hunts and the way he shared very little about his mother as though he was trying to keep these precious memories of hers for himself. Undoubtedly, family has always been and will always be the most important thing for him and he would sacrifice himself for it without even thinking. That was one of his features that Kate admired the most, and to know that he was putting her on such a high level of respect, trust, care and love than all these people, touched her so deeply that it left her speechless.

Dean cleared his throat and motioned to the end of the corridor, "Come on, let's get out of here."

In a heartbeat, Kate reached out and gripped the front of his flannel before he made any step. He looked down at her fingers, tightly wrapped around his flannel, and then moved his gaze up to look at her face.

"Can I get a hug first?" She softly asked and Dean scanned her soft features for a couple for a couple of seconds before obliging. He wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her against him. He could feel her hand flattening against his chest, and he slowly frowned.

"You're not gonna run away again, right?" He asked, causing a light chuckle to leave her mouth as she rested the right side of her face against his chest.

"No," she replied. "I'm not going anywhere."

At that, a peaceful smile formed on Dean's face. He pulled Kate closer against him, holding her as though she could vanish through her arms at any moment, and he kissed the top of her head, letting his lips linger on her soft curly brown hair.

Dean was about to close his eyes and breathe in the calm comfort that hugging Kate brought him when he thought he heard something, a faint scratching sound. He moved his head and looked over at the seats along the empty tiny corridor, and frowned. The seats were shaking. It was faint, but he could still see it before it subsided.

Kate could feel Dean tensing against her all of sudden. She slowly looked up at him, without really breaking their embrace as her sinhalite colored eyes glittered up at him. "Dean?" She asked quietly, before he gently pulled away from her, his gaze focused on the seats. He took a couple of steps towards the fixed seats while Kate silently watched him.

"I thought I saw somethi-," he began to say when building began to shake even more violently than the previous episode, and they both felt it, nearly losing their footing.

The whole place was shaking violently, from the floor up to the ceiling, and the once quiet corridor became noisy as the screams and cries of panic from everyone in the hospital started to echo. The cars alarms buzzed in unison from the parking lot as the hospital alarm suddenly rang. The walls and the floor were vibrating so hard that cracks had started to appear on the walls, and ceiling lights became detached as they flickered and sparked before shattering. One would have nearly fell on top of Kate's head if Dean hadn't been fast enough to yank her out of the way. As she fell, her injured ankle gave out from underneath her, and she landed on her back just a couple of feet away from the hunter. She sat up on her elbows while the earth kept shaking. Her eyes went to look over at Dean when she saw that he was under the ceiling light that almost killed her as it detached from the ceiling.

Her eyes widened with shock and fear as she realized that Dean was completely still under the sharp broken object. Fear paralyzed her as she noticed blood flowing on the floor, right under the unconscious hunter.

"Dean!"

* * *

 **Author's note :**

 **I don't have the words to thank each and all of you for your amazing support. Whether through PM or reviews, you guys brought me a much needed strenght these past few weeks, and I will always be beyond thankful for that. Your strong loyalty and your genuine care have taken me aback and have deeply touched me.  
**

 **You have to know that this update is here because of your words. Because you showed me that my story wasn't that bad by keeping on reading it. Because you told me that you'd still be there when I'll be able to update again. Because you are so faithful, so supportive, so understanding, so compassionate and so beautiful.  
**

 **Words really do have power, and the words you sent to me have truly healed some of my scars. But most of all they helped me keep fighting. And that's what it's all about, isn't it ? To never ever give up, to keep fighting, no matter how hard things get. Because, after all, everything is ephemeral – good things just like bad things. So yeah, when it gets hard, we have to keep fighting, because that's how things pass. And, yes, everything passes.**

 **So, thank you for helping me fighting. Thank you.**

 **PS: I can't wait to read what you thought of this new chapter!**

 **A.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to 'Igotzapped' for beta-reading this chapter! I appreciate it and I'm sure that the readers do as well.**

 **This chapter is settled in between the episodes** _ **'The Real Ghostbusters'**_ **(5x09) and** _ **'Abandon all Hope'**_ **(5x10).**

* * *

 _ **Two weeks later.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

It was almost hypnotic.

It went round and round, and again round and round, and still round and round.

It was far from being anything interesting, but there was nothing better to stare at while time passed by. After looking at the metal design of a devil's trap on the grill right below this turning object, it was its turn to become interesting. As a matter of fact, this large extraction fan that kept spinning round and round became the most interesting thing to watch for long minutes. Then again, it wasn't like the young woman had any better thing to do in that cylindrical, iron-coated in salt room.

It was only starting to get more than almost hypnotic when the faint sound of footsteps from the other side of the big metal door pulled the brunette's attention away. The sound of footsteps grew louder before it stopped as the door opened from the outside. Nevertheless, the young woman didn't turn her head to the direction of the door when it slid open. She kept her head thrown back her eyes followed the never-stopping rounds that the fan didn't meters above her head.

"Hey, it's me," the friendly voice of her visitor greeted. But, she didn't greet back.

She crossed her arms over her chest, straightened her back and remained silent, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room.

"Come on, I thought you were past pouting at Dean and me."

"As long as I'll be stuck in here, I'll never be past pouting at Dean and you," she replied, keeping her gaze focused on the fan even though the back of her neck was beginning to slightly hurt.

"Alright, Katie," the tall young man sighed. "I guess you're also gonna pout at this home-made hamburger and this nice slice of _Charlotte au Chocolat_."

The brunette spun her head a bit too quickly at what he had just said, causing an amused little smirk to appear on the lips of the hazel-eyed man watching her.

"So, shall we have lunch together?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

She looked at the tray of food he was carrying in his hands and then up at him, only to see that he had the same smug expression than his elder brother when this latter knew he had won an argument. She rolled her eyes and sighed, which was a clear enough answer for him as he went to the bed, put the tray down on it and took a seat on one edge of the bed.

She stood up, glanced at the left opened door as she rubbed the back of her neck with one hand and pointed at the door as she walked to the bed.

"You know, I can easily walk out right now."

"Yeah, but I also know that you're not going to," he simply replied as she nearly plopped down on the bed.

She looked down at the tray between them as the young man pulled out of his pockets two cans of coke. She glanced up at him as he put them down, right next to the tray and then went for the salad box and a fork that was right next to the hamburger plate. Her brown eyes returned to the tray of food, the hamburger appealed at her attention more than the slice of cake. Her fingers lifted the bread so she could see what was inside that so-called homemade hamburger. A thin slice of tomato, a thick steak, a slab of lettuce, and some sauce that looked like ketchup.

"No onions?"

"Dean cooked it. He said you didn't like onions that much, so he only chopped tiny dices of onions and put them right under the steak."

"Wait," she interrupted him. "You're telling me that your _brother_ cooked that?" She asked and Sam gave a nod accompanied with a slight shrug. Even though Dean had told her more than once that he used to cook for little Sammy when they were younger, she didn't know that he could cook something that looked this good. She only hoped that it tasted as good as what it looked like.

"However, the cake, it's from the supermarket," Sam informed her. "He said it was your favorite."

Kate was surprised that Dean remembered what her favorite dessert was, but she didn't say a word. She grabbed the burger in between her fingers and brought it to her lips while Sam brought his first fork of Caesar salad in his mouth. She took a large bite and her eyes widened with an even bigger surprise. The hamburger was delicious. It tasted even better than the ones she had eaten all along the country while traveling with them. Heck, it tasted better than any hamburgers she had eaten before. It was so delicious that she almost forgot that she was mad at them for the current situation.

"So? Did you change your mind, yet?" Sam asked, his hazel eyes looking up from his salad.

"Did _you_ change your mind about keeping me locked in here?" She asked back, her mouth half-full.

Sam sighed and Kate knew what it meant. She was going to be stuck in Bobby Singer's panic room for a little bit longer, unless she changed her mind. But, how could she change her mind? She knew she couldn't. Not after what happened back in Garfield, Kansas, a couple of weeks ago. The earthquake had been lethal for most of the people in the hospital that night. The dreadful images of the collapsed hospital and its destroyed surroundings still burned in the back of her mind. If it hadn't been for Sam's quick thinking to call Castiel so he could teleport the three of them out of there, they would have ended up with the other corpses under the rubble, though Dean had almost been among them anyways. He was a mangled mess when Cas was able to look at his wounds, and it took him almost a full minute to heal them. It had been at that exact moment that Kate's thoughts started swirling around the potential stop to all of these disasters that becoming the weapon could imply. The next day, when the Winchesters and herself were already in another town, and silence was their only companion, the news had announced that about half of the town of Garfield had been leveled by that violent earthquake, killing a high number of people. In addition to an information that Chuck had given her, Kate had realized that she could no longer let all of this keep on happening. So, the brunette finally spoke up a plan that had been slowly forming in the back of her mind.

She had to become the Light to put an end to all these disasters.

Of course, Sam and Dean accused her of still being under the spell of the Crocotta, but she denied it. She tried to explain to them that it was the only solution left since the search for the Colt was going nowhere. The brothers tried to reason her, but when she went to a Jehovah witness standing at the entrance of a supermarket so that he could call the angels down there, they realized that it was all very serious and she wasn't going to give up that idea. Kate explained to them that the instant she would become the Light she would control its great power to stop Lucifer from bringing any other kind of death upon this world; she would stop the Apocalypse. However, Sam and Dean were both entirely convinced that she wouldn't be able to control this weapon. What Gabriel had told them about the Light, the Darkness, the Guardians and the Apocalypse was enough for the Winchesters to understand that her plan was too reckless. Too reckless for this whole world, and too reckless for Kate.

Aware of the strong obstinacy of the brunette, Sam and Dean decided to bring her to the only place where they knew they could keep a close watch on her while finding help on what to do to make her change her mind.

Bobby Singer's house.

The scolding that the old man in his wheelchair gave to the brown-eyed woman once he knew everything had taken aback the trio. But, Kate had still remained stubborn and determined that letting her become that powerful Weapon was the best thing to do. Nothing could knock a glimpse of sense into her mind. So, when they found her trying to sneak out of the house, they had no other choice but to lock her up in the only place where she wouldn't be able to summon any angel or any other creature; the panic room.

"Katie, you know, I'd rather not do that, but you're not giving us any other choice," Sam replied, his eyes full of gentleness as he looked at her.

"I'm giving you the possibility to save this whole world, Sam. It's better than having any other choice," she told him, her tone nearly stern as she gave him an intense gaze, putting down her burger.

"No. Not in that situation. Not in _any_ situation," he replied, his tone mirroring hers as he lowered down the salad box that was in his large hand.

During these past couple of weeks, Sam, Dean and Bobby had attempted to make her understand that chances were that she won't be able to be at full control if she became the Weapon, but what they had tried to make her understand the most was that sacrificing herself was in no way the solution. The sole idea of it had created a deep, aching frustration within them. Moreover, her endless obstinacy was making them feel more helpless day by day. Sam didn't say much about it, but he was beginning to feel as though everything around him was crumbling down and all he could do was watch. Disasters all around the world were becoming a weekly event, whether it was a natural disaster or some human actions leading to murders and massacres, things were simply not getting better. The young man knew that it was his fault. If he hadn't chosen a demon over his own brother, then none of this would have happened. The disasters would have been rare or even non-existent, Kate wouldn't have had the need to become the Weapon, Bobby would still be able to walk, and Dean... Dean would still look at him the way he used to; green eyes full of pride and love for his little brother.

"So, what? People are supposed to keep on suffering and dying because you want to have free will in a situation that is much bigger than – " Kate begun before Sam cut her off with a burst.

"Free will is the only thing keeping this world from ending!" He stared at her with a piercing look that nearly froze her in spot. "If we give in, in any kind of way, half of this planet is gonna burn. You should know that better than anyone. You really think that the angels are gonna let you take the upper hand on them? We've already talked about this. If you say 'yes' to the angels, they'll find a way to trick you so that you'll do what _they_ want from you. Gabriel told us that you mustn't become this frigging weapon! It's not your job! It's not Dean's job, it's not anyone's job... I..." His voice cracked into a little whisper. "I'm the one who broke Lucifer free. I'm the one who should fix this... It's my job, not yours."

Kate was quiet as she watched sincere guilt form on Sam's face. The last time she saw such an expression on his young features, was back in River Pass when he admitted to her that he needed some time on his own. He wanted to redeem himself that time, and when she saw him again, she was happily surprised to see that he was no longer hating himself – or at least not as much as before. But, right now, the guilt painted on his face was so intense, so profound that Kate could only imagine the pain it created within him. It was unbearable to see such an expression on his face.

"Sam," she softly murmured to him, reaching out to rest her hand on top of his forearm. "You know it's not your fault. You were manipulated into doing what you did."

"It's no excuse," he replied, glancing down at her tiny hand that was gently rubbing his forearm. "If anyone should sacrifice themselves, it should be me. Not you. Not anyone else."

"Why does it always have to be you or Dean? Why can't you let anyone help you?" She asked, causing him to lightly snort as he watched her thumb tracing back and forth on his skin. "Why don't you let me help you?"

"Katie," he sighed, furrowing his brow as he looked up at her. "You wanna help me? Then, don't do this."

"Sam – "

"No, Katie, I'm serious. If you really wanna help us, then you won't do this to us. You won't let us have to keep going, knowing that your death is on us. You won't let us blame ourselves for what happened to you."

No word left the brunette's lips as she and the young man stared into each other's eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was to add a heavy and painful burden on him and his family, but his eyes told her that it was already too late. Nevertheless, what could she do? Letting the angels put the Weapon in her so that she could turn into said weapon was the only way for them to have the upper hand on everybody. Heaven and Hell would have no other choice but to stop their stupid Apocalypse. Heaven and Hell would have no other choice, but to leave the Winchester brothers and all the people she cared about, alone. Heaven and Hell would have no choice. Becoming this weapon was undoubtedly the best way for her to bring true peace into all these hunters' lives. It went even beyond that. Becoming this weapon was the _only_ way to give Sam and Dean what they deserved: a happy, peaceful and safe life. And, it was the only way to save him…

"Sam," Kate begun in a whisper, her eyes apologetic.

"Don't," Sam interrupted her, dragging his arm away from her grip. "I know you enough to know that your eyes are sorry for what your mouth is gonna say." He dragged his arm away from her hand, stood up and made his way to the big door while her brown eyes followed him. He stopped at the doorway, turned his head to look at her and let out a weak snort. "You know what? Bobby was right. You're like Dean. You think you're doing something good, something right. But, at the end you're just selfish."

With no further word, he walked out of the room, pulling the door closed and locking it just a second later. Kate remained entirely quiet, her brown eyes slowly shifting away from the door and returning to the food on the bed; his nearly uneaten salad and her almost uneaten hamburger. She did her hardest to ignore the pain that developed inside of her, and repeated what had become her motto lately: becoming the weapon would fix it all. Nevertheless, the miserable expression on Sam's face today and the way he had just left, made it all a bit more complicated than usual.

* * *

As the old hunter chewed on the large bite of hamburger he had just taken, he looked down to make sure that he hadn't made any sauce drop on the very ancient book he left open. He knew that he shouldn't be eating at his desk, especially if it was covered with books that were five times his age, but he couldn't deny Dean's hamburger. Not only did he know that this young man could cook pretty well when he let himself go in a kitchen instead of dirtying his hands in his dear Impala, but he also knew that this young man needed to keep himself busy. To do so, Bobby asked Dean to cook lunch for them all. The old hunter knew that it would keep the kid from over-thinking and over-worrying this mess. Nonetheless, Bobby knew that those concerns of Dean's were justified. Hell, he was going through half of them himself. The Apocalypse, the search for that crossroads demon who had the Colt, and now, Kate and her suicidal idea to become the Weapon. As though her situation hadn't been already too complicated and too dramatic.

Truth be told, the old man was rather shocked when Sam and Dean told him why they were bringing Kate to his place a couple of weeks ago. He was puzzled, too. He couldn't understand how someone like this young woman could come up with such an idea, such a plan. He knew her well enough to believe with certainty that she would eventually come up to the realization of how stupid, reckless and illogical her idea was. But, as the days passed by, Bobby began to slowly lose faith that she would ever change her mind. He had tried his best to talk some sense into her. He scolded her and even did the opposite. But, she had remained stubborn as ever. Surely he could understand the way she felt. He had seen some pretty rough things in his life, and he knew that in the short amount of time that Kate had been in this universe, she had been the witness of quite some rough things as well. But, she had always managed to somewhat keep herself together. There had been ups and downs, maybe more downs that he was aware of, but she had still bitten the bullet and moved forward, never giving up once.

This time around, it must have been too much for the kid.

To experience such an intense earthquake and then to see the collapse of the hospital right after, must have been too much, too hard. And, to find out in the news the next day that this earthquake had destroyed half of the town must have been just the final straw that led her into thinking that she had to do something; that she had to become the Weapon to end it all. To live such traumatizing event right after a case during which her moral and her deep need to help had both been tested severely to the point of building a solid guilt that led her into thinking that becoming the Weapon was _the_ thing to do.

However, for Bobby it went beyond all that.

Indeed, as much sadness, misery and guilt as such this catastrophe could bring to one person, Bobby's instincts were telling him that it went beyond all that. Kate must have been thinking about the different ways to stop all these disasters that were happening these past months. She must have come to the conclusion that the Light, as powerful as it was, would give her the power to stop these disasters. This precise thought must have been swirling in the back of her mind for quite some time, nevertheless, Bobby couldn't figure out what would have initiated this thinking.

Footsteps coming from the hallway made the old man look over there, only to see the younger Winchester walking in. The look on his face told him that he wasn't here to pick up some napkins for his lunch with Kate.

"Everything's alright?" He asked, causing Dean, who was nursing a beer at the kitchen table while rereading in a loop the same page of book, to stand up and walk into the living room.

Dean stood at the kitchen's doorway as he looked at Sam who quickly made his way to the couch before flopping down on it.

"Yeah... She's just... Stubborn as ever," Sam replied in almost a mutter.

Dean and Bobby exchanged one look, before the old man asked, "She's still pouting?"

"No," Sam sighed, throwing a glance at the coffee table, half covered with opened books and empty beer bottles. "Not really. It's just... She doesn't wanna listen to me. She's still so stuck with the same stupid idea."

"What did you expect?" Dean commented. "It's Kaitlin we're talking about."

"Still," Sam replied, moving his gaze up to look at his brother. "She's been down there for a couple of weeks now, and there's absolutely no development in her argument and her way of thinking. She doesn't even care that if –" Sam cut himself short, lightly throwing his hands in the air and looking away as he continued in a lower voice, "She doesn't care about the consequences. Not any of them... I don't know what to do, anymore."

"Sam, don't beat yourself up," Dean sighed as he looked at his brother brushing his hair back in frustration. "We tried everything. I talked to her, Bobby did, you did. And it didn't work. Hell, your puppy dog eyes didn't work!"

"Yeah, but I don't get it. How does a smart woman like her, comes up with a stupid plan like this?"

"It ain't a stupid plan," Bobby remarked thoughtfully, causing both of the brothers to whip their heads at him.

"Pardon?" Dean asked, quirking his eyebrows up and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Calm down, boys," Bobby told them at the way they stared at him. "I'm not sayin' she's right. I'm just sayin' that if we could be sure at 200 percent that she could control the Weapon, then her plan wouldn't be stupid at all."

"Yeah, but we don't know for sure that she can control the Weapon," Sam stated, looking at the old man with squinted eyes. "I mean, you didn't find something that could tell us otherwise... Did you?"

Dean frowned his eyebrows as he turned his head towards his brother's direction.

"No, I didn't," Bobby simply replied.

"And, even if you did," Dean started, distinctly pronouncing each of his words. "I thought we made it clear that we didn't let her do anything, or we ain't on the same page anymore?"

"Of course, we're still on the same page, Dean," the old man answered as though stated the obvious. "We keep her safe until she gets back to her universe." Sam glanced up at Dean to see the reaction Bobby's words created, but Dean kept the same hard expression on his face than the one he had been wearing these past days. "But, the thing is that Sam's right. Kate may be stubborn, but she ain't a stupid woman. She's smart. So, that means she must have been thinking about this plan long before your case back in Garfield. Which is why I asked for Matt to come."

"Matt?" Sam slightly frowned. "They haven't seen each other for a while, Bobby. How is he supposed to help?" Bobby opened a drawer of his desk and took a black cellphone out of there before holding it up for the two brothers to see. "Kate's phone?"

"I checked all of her calls."

"And?" Dean asked, urging the old man to tell him what was on his mind.

"Matt's been calling her a lot."

"Yeah, well, that's no news," Dean muttered.

"What do you mean by 'a lot'?" Sam asked, his brow furrowed.

"I mean that for a hunter who didn't want me or Rufus to be bothered these past months, he's found some pretty free time to call her several times everyday."

"Everyday?" Dean repeated, confused.

"Yeah. Especially this past month or so."

"She didn't say anything about that," Sam commented in half a whisper. "You think she's been hiding it?"

Now that he thought about it, Dean realized that Kate had found quite a lot of ways to spend some time on her own these past couple of months. Before the Crocotta incident, when they were trying to find the Colt, she would often go on her own to the lobby of the motel they were staying at, she would go more than twice in the public bathroom whenever they were at a bar or elsewhere. Back when they were staying at one of Rufus' cabin, she would often stay three times longer in the bathroom. Dean couldn't believe that he hadn't spotted something weird about that. He knew better than anyone that she couldn't stand being on her own, and this alone should have made him notice that something was off with her. He should have known that something was bothering her, but somehow it seemed as though she had been more at peace with herself...

" _It's just that I planned on asking you what was going on with you. 'Cause earlier you seemed a little bit off... For lack of better word."_ he had told her when they were sitting at that bar back at the 'Supernatural' convention after the case was solved and the cops were questioning everyone. _"But, when I look at you now, it's like... You feel better, right?"_

" _Right,"_ she had gently whispered with a nod of her brown head.

" _Good,"_ he had simply stated, not knowing what to say more, although he was gladly relieved to see her with such peace written on her features.

Nevertheless, that calm expression always seemed to go away after her calls with Matt, as though he told her mood-killer things, as though he told her things that would make her feel worried, sad, and guilty...

"The son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed with anger, causing both Sam and Bobby to widen their eyes at him.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked the green-eyed hunter.

"It's Matt, right? He's the one who pushed her into coming up with that plan, huh?" Dean said to Bobby, one of his hands freeing from his crossing arms to go up to his freckled face and rub with frustration his stubble jaw.

"Could it be?" Sam asked in a much calmer tone than Dean as he looked over at the old man behind his desk.

"No. Matt wouldn't let Kate think this way," Bobby sternly stated. "But, he might know something."

"If he knew something and he didn't say a word, he's gonna wish he stayed where he is," Dean declared through gritted teeth.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

The tiles were slippery under the brunette's feet as the hot water flowed down her body, rinsing the shampoo and soap off of her. Her head thrown back, she ran her hands through her hair, until she reached her neck and massaged the knot that had been bothering her for days. Although the three men had gotten her locked up in the panic room for a couple of weeks, they still made sure that she could still go to the bathroom at least four times a day. She had the right for her daily shower, which gave her a little over half an hour on her own in the bathroom. Nevertheless, either Sam or Dean was standing right outside the bathroom's door to make sure that she wasn't going to try to sneak out again. This time around, since Sam and Bobby went out a few minutes ago, it was Dean's turn to stand at the bathroom's door. It was the bathroom on the second floor, and Sam had made sure on the very first day to empty it from anything that Kate could use to make a spell. Dean wasn't truly worried about it, but when Sam explained that Castiel was concerned about her ability to do magic so easily, the green-eyed hunter had realized that it may have been a little more serious than what he thought.

Sitting on a chair right across the bathroom's door on the second floor, the dirty-blond hunter was slowly dazing off in the calm hallway where only the sound of the shower running made some noise.

Dean kept it to himself, but he was dead tired. Too many things were happening all at once lately, causing him to lose his sleep in a way that hasn't happened since a long time ago. He wasn't certain of how many times he slept since they arrived at Bobby's, but he was certain that he could count these times in the fingers of one single hand. However, there were times when he was so exhausted that his body couldn't take it anymore and he would just fall asleep wherever it came. A couple of times it was on the couch in the living room, and the other couple of times it was on his bed in one of Bobby's rooms that had become his over the years. If he had to be honest, he'd rather not fall asleep at all. Because falling asleep meant having dreams, and his dreams were far from being the nice, relaxing, happy dreams that one could have.

They were nightmares.

As though feeling over-whelmed by the current events wasn't enough, he had to go through nightmares of his time in Hell. Moreover, his brain made it worse for him by mixing the current events with his memories of Hell. Sometimes, Dean would dream of himself trying to stop Kate from becoming the Weapon, but failing and having her ending up on a track in Hell where he'd be the one torturing her. Other times, he would dream that Kate became the Weapon and she would kill Sam because he'd be possessed by Lucifer. It would always make him scream until someone woke him up. Most of the times, Sam was the one waking him up, a worried expression on his features. Then, Dean would avoid answering Sam's questions about what he was dreaming about, and Sam would just give up and go back to his own room, leaving Dean to keep himself awake. To do so, Dean would drink a tons of black coffee mixed with some strong whisky; the beverage would keep him awake and keep the memories of that nightmare as far away as possible. But, truth be told, it didn't work that well. Dean needed something to not help him forget, but help him move on from these nightmares. Dean needed something to help him keep on fighting. He needed something to bring him peace and comfort.

"Dean, wake up. Dean!"

Dean's eyes shot open. Kate was bent down towards him, her semi-wet hair falling around her soft, creamy face that held the same worried expression than his brother when it would be him waking him up. Her sparkling brown eyes were studying his entire face with genuine concern and care, and he could feel one of her hands holding his shoulders after she had shaken him awake.

"Hey," she gently whispered to him. "It's okay, it was just a dream."

Dean frowned, his eyes moving down to see that she was dressed in the dark blue pair of jeans and the red flannel he had let her pick up in her bedroom before the shower. His green eyes landed on her feet to see that only of her feet was wearing a white sock, the other one was bare.

"Why didn't you put on the other sock?" He asked, his voice coming out weaker than he wanted it to.

"I was going to, but then," she paused, causing him to look up at her. "You screamed." Dean looked away and stood up, almost causing her hands to slide away but she kept them around his strong biceps. "Dean," she lightly squeezed his arms so that he would look at her. But, he didn't. She continued nevertheless, "It's not the first time. I know that. I heard you scream the other day. And, yesterday, Sam told me you've been having nightmares... I thought they were over."

"They're never over, Kaitlin," he replied to her, his tone serious. Without waiting for her to say anything in return, he turned and started making his way to the staircase. "C'mon. Let's get you back to the panic room."

Kate watched him for a moment, not moving an inch from her spot, her eyebrows slowly knitting together, and then she whispered loud enough for him to hear, "It's not fair."

Dean stopped, turned around and looked at the brunette, confusion all over his face. "What?"

"It's not fair."

"What? Locking you up in the panic room? You don't let us any choice, Kaitlin," he told her before taking two steps towards her. He held his hand up and with his fingers he gestured as he continued, "We're this close to find the Colt, and you wanna blow it all up because you think you have a better idea to stop something that you're not involved with. So, I'm sorry, but as long as you want to carry out that suicidal plan of yours, you're gonna stay put in that room."

"Why?" She breathed out.

Although she already had this conversation about her plan with each of these three hunters during the first week and a few other times during the second week, the words exchanged were never the same. At first, they had all tried to explain to her that her plan was stupid. Then, they tried to tell her that it was too risky for the whole planet and for her. And, now, they seemed to be so tired of getting nowhere with her that they began to show what it was doing to them. They began to put down their masks of great warriors to show how her plan was affecting them. The words Sam had said before walking out of the panic room earlier had been hard for her, and she wasn't looking forward for Dean and Bobby to give her the same treatment.

"Because, you're not supposed to do that thing you wanna do. Actually, you're not supposed to do any of those things. We shouldn't have let you in this crappy hunter life. That never was what you were supposed to do. And, you're definitely not supposed to become the Weapon!"

"Then, what am I doing here?!" She burst out, throwing her arms in the air in frustration. "What is the purpose of me being here if I gotta keep out of it all! I can't stand back while innocent people are dying all around this planet and I'm in the power to put an end on it!"

"You think I can?" He half-shouted in return. "I... I know I did this. It's my mess and I gotta fix it. I could easily go find the angels and let them use me as the supreme vessel. But, I don't. Not because I know that half of this planet is gonna bite dust if I do, but because I know and _remember_ what these sons of bitches did to us." He held his left hand up and lifted a finger after a finger as he listed his examples. "Sending me to Hell. Letting Sam drink demon blood. Torturing you. Leaving Bobby in a wheelchair. And there are so many I'm not even gonna mention," he dropped his hand to his side. "I know you think you'll be able to control the Weapon and turn it against them. But, I also know that they're smart. They'll find a way to stop you from doing this. They'll find a way to control you. And, even if they don't... It's not your job to fix this mess. It's mine."

"Dean –"

"No. Just... Don't take away my chance to have my revenge on Zachariah. I wanna kill this son of a bitch for what he did to you. For what he did to all of us. And, I wanna take my time."

Kate lightly frowned her eyebrows and asked in a whisper, "Was your nightmare about him?"

"Most of them are because of him, yeah," the man in a denim shirt and a pair of black old jeans simply answered. "But, others are about what's happening all around me lately."

"So, that's it," she whispered. "Your way of coping with all these disasters happening all around the world, is to let them become your nightmares, so you don't have to face them in reality."

"No," he shook his head. "I'm not talking about these disasters; I'm talking about you." Kate was puzzled, but she didn't say a word as Dean explained further on his own. "I dream about failing you."

"Failing me?"

"Yeah, you become the Weapon, and... Everything just gets worse from there."

"Dean, me becoming the Weapon isn't you failing me," she gently told him as she crossed the two feet separating them.

"Yeah, it is," he replied, looking down into her chocolate orbs. "I've already told you. I made a promise to myself. I promised to keep you safe. If you become the Weapon, I break this promise; I fail you."

"You can't tell me this," Kate half-whispered, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "You've been to the future; you've seen what the world will be like if no one stops the Apocalypse. If no one stops Lucifer, you've seen what will happen, Dean. You told me that every places looked like ghost towns, Croatoans running free in the streets, and Sam possessed by Lucifer. You told me you didn't want any of this to happen. You told me –"

"You're dead," he cut her off, his voice grave and deep. "In the future, you're dead. Killed by Croatans. But, in the future, you've never agreed on becoming the Weapon. My future-self told me that you never gave up and never gave in. You've never become that Weapon, no matter how destroyed the world got. And, I guess that's what I was holding on; that faith in you to go back into not letting anything turn you into that Weapon."

"Why did you never tell me this?" She asked, her voice half-broken as she was holding back her tears.

"Because, as much as I wanted to change that future when I got back here, a part of me envied what my future-self had," he admitted, his green eyes looking straight into her confused brown ones.

He couldn't tell her what he learned in the future about the relationship they shared in the future. Ever since he returned from 2014, he had often thought about all that he'd learned about her future-self, but he had always kept these thoughts for himself. These thoughts that confused him so much, these thoughts that were so foreign for him, had become precious. He wanted to keep them for himself. He wanted them to never die away. As time passed by, he even began to dream to live these moments he never had the possibility to truly experience nor feel in his entire life. However, the knowledge that this woman could leave his world at any moment always held him back from being brave enough to try to live those things with her, even though he was sometimes desperate for this kind of life.

"But, now I get it," he continued. "I can't be selfish."

A sad corner smile formed on his lips, she glanced down at it before shifting her eyes back to look into his, "I don't get it."

"I don't get it either," he replied. "I don't get what can push someone who's always telling me to never give up, to be so persuaded that becoming a massive killing weapon is the right thing to do."

"Someone needs to do something," she whispered, a tear escaping one of her eyes' corner.

"That doesn't mean it has to be you," he gently told her, his hand going up to lay on her cheek as his calloused thumb wiped her tear away.

"If it's not me, it's gonna be you," she replied, bringing her hand up to grab his raised-up forearm with her fingers. "It's gonna be you or Sam. And, I can't let that happen."

"It's our job, Kaitlin," he murmured, his deep voice seeming to go deeper as his green eyes piercing in her brown eyes.

"No, you've already done enough. You've given so much, you've been through enough. It's time you let someone else step in, Dean," she told him, taking him slightly apart. "You need to let me be this person," she added, her hand leaving his forearm to cup his cheek. He let her do, the softness of her touch was a delicate comfort that he had been seeking for so long and found in only this impossible woman from another world. The sincerity of her words, the tenderness of her touch and the compassion of her gaze made him realize something.

This young woman was really ready to sacrifice herself for this whole world, but it wasn't just that.

She was ready to sacrifice herself to save them; to save him.

"Dean?" Sam voice called as the front door opened loudly, breaking him away from his thoughts as he turned his head to look at the staircase. His attention was pulled back to the brunette as he felt her hand move away from him before she stepped back.

"I'll be right down," Dean said loudly so that his brother would hear him while his eyes followed the brunette who walked to the bathroom.

He looked at her as she bent down, grabbed her white sock and turned around. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead she pressed her lips together and breathed out through her nostrils, slightly shaking her head before she went to pass him by. He quietly followed her downstairs, the weight on his shoulders getting heavier as he slowly realized that he was one of the main reasons why she wanted to become the Weapon.

* * *

 _ **Half an hour later.**_

 _The entire place was violently shaking as the young woman crawled to the motionless green-eyed hunter, crushed by the big broken object that disconnected from the ceiling._

" _Dean!" She repeated, her shaky fingers going to his neck to find his pulse. She tried to keep her eyes away from the blood flowing out of his body as she finally found a pulse. He was still alive; just seriously knocked out. With all her force, she pushed the big broken object away from the top of him, and spotted in this way that a sharp piece of the ceiling light was stuck in between his shoulder blades._

 _She knew that a body shouldn't be moved when the person was unconscious with a such a big and sharp piece of metal planted in their back. But, she also knew that they couldn't stay here. The earthquake was so intense that the building was about to collapse, the rubble already starting to pile up around them._

 _There was so much noise with the hospital alarm, the car alarms on the parking lot and the screams of the people, that the flapping sound of Castiel's wings wasn't heard by the young woman as he appeared a few feet behind her._

 _With a frown upon his face because of the intense shaking under his feet, the angel spotted the brunette. His blue eyes went slightly round as he noticed a pair of feet with familiar ripped jeans and brown boots. Even if Kate was blocking his view from the upper side of the person, Castiel knew who it was. The man he raised from perdition. The righteous man that showed him that God's creation was worth fighting for. The righteous man that gave him the only object_ _that can help him find his Father_ _and bring Him_ _back._

 _The angel quickly went towards them, his hand leaning on one wall when the trembling of the ground almost made him fall. The second he arrived next to the young woman, he touched the back of her head to send her somewhere else. He then bent down and touched the unconscious hunter's arm so that he could teleport both himself and Dean to the location where he sent Kate._

 _It was in the middle of an empty road, miles and miles away, that Kate found herself. Still in the same position on the floor, she looked around and saw Sam before the angel and Dean appeared right in front of her._

" _Dean!" Sam exclaimed at the sight of his motionless brother with a metal piece sticking in his back and his jacket stained with his own blood._

 _He rushed to his brother's sides, glancing up at the young woman who put her hands on the unconscious hunter's arm as she informed Sam that his big brother was still alive. Sam moved his gaze up to the angel who was approaching them. Without saying a word, Castiel removed the sharp object from Dean's back in one swift movement, he tossed it away, and put his fingers on the back of Dean's head. After a short moment that seemed to last way too long, the green-eyed hunter jerked awake, washing relief in both Sam and Kate._

" _Damn," Dean muttered as he put his hands flat on the ground and pushed himself into a sitting position. His brow was furrowed as he looked over at the brunette whose hands hadn't let go of his arm._

" _You're okay?" She inquired, her brown eyes scanning his face._

" _Yeah," he just said, before he noticed that no longer were they in a hospital, but in the middle of an empty road, illuminated by some street lights. He looked up and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Hey, Cas. What're you doing here? Actually, what are we doing here? No scratch that, where the hell are we is a better question."_

" _It stopped," Castiel announced, a deep expression on his face._

" _What did?" Sam asked, his hazel eyes observing their angel friend._

" _The earthquake," Castiel replied, while Kate glanced at Dean to find him glancing back at her at the same time._

" _We gotta go back there!" Sam exclaimed and the angel slightly winced at that._

" _Sammy's right. Whatever caused that earthquake in that hospital, may still be there," Dean explained as he stood up and gently helped Kate do so, too. When the brunette groaned, Dean threw a glance down at her feet and quickly remembered about her injured ankle. "Cas, can you do some of your angel mojo for Kaitlin before we pop back where Baby is?"_

 _The angel's blue eyes looked over at the young woman, her face was painted with some minor injuries. But it was the way she was trying so hard not to put too much weight on one leg that got him to understand that her ankle was badly injured._

" _I'm sorry. I can't," Castiel responded before adding. "And, we can't go back there."_

" _Wait. What do you mean we can't go back there?" Sam asked, obvious confusion on his face just like on the two others'._

" _I don't have enough energy left to do that," Castiel explained simply. It was true that since he had been cut off from Heaven, his powers weren't as full as they used._

" _Wait, you don't have your mojo to bring us back there?" Dean asked him before glancing at Kate as she put one hand on his arm to support herself up._

" _I do. But, there's no creature to kill there. It was a natural disaster, and I can't fix anything there," Castiel tried to explain._

" _Castiel," Kate simply said, begging him with her brown eyes to teleport them back to the hospital._

 _The angel seemed uncomfortable, as though it was really bothering him to go back to the place he just saved them from. However, the intensity of Kate's brown orbs made him give up as he reached out his two hands to them._

 _In the blink of an eye, the four of them were standing in the parking lot, right next to the shinning Impala that was slightly damaged._

 _A few street lights that remained working in the parking lot, gave enough light for them all to see what had happened._

 _Castiel looked down, unable to look at what he knew he couldn't fix, while the trio stared at it, unable to say a word as shock filled them._

 _Kate was shocked to the point that she forgot about her injured ankle and stepped her foot on the floor, the pain causing her to nearly lose her balance before she caught herself on Dean's arm again._

 _Although Dean wrapped his arm around Kate's waist to help her out, he did it subconsciously while his gaze was glued to what was in front of him._

 _As for Sam, he was still, not able to believe the scenery surrounding them._

 _The hospital they were in just a minute ago was completely collapsed into rubble and dust._

 _Most of the cars in the parking lot were_ _either covered in dust or_ _destroyed under_ _the_ _rubble._

 _The ground was covered with some opened cracks, and a broken hydrant fire on the other side of the parking lot was shooting water up into the dark sky._

 _The whole area was quiet, except for a car's alarm still going off._

" _No one survived," Castiel stated, still looking down at his feet._

" _How many died?" Kate asked in a little voice, causing both Sam and Dean to look at her._

" _Many," the angel chose to only say, although he knew the exact number of people who had died. The Angel radio was buzzing about it right then. But, he just couldn't say out loud the number of innocent people that died._

" _Was it really a natural disaster? Or – " she stopped herself, before turning her head to look at the dark-haired angel who lifted his head to look at her._

 _Even with the dim light, she could see the vehemence of his expression. It was enough to make her understand that something was behind it – and not anything._

" _I've got to find God," he declared, strong determination in his voice, before he disappeared, leaving the trio behind, with the same guilty feeling burning inside of them._

The noise of the big iron-coated door sliding open brought Kate out of her thoughts. She turned her head towards it and immediately sat up on the bed when her eyes landed on the black-haired doctor who walked in.

"Doctor Parks," Kate let out in surprise as the doctor, carrying a black suitcase, pushed the door closed, the sound of locking on the other side making it obvious that she had been walked down to here by either Sam or Dean.

The woman in her green, satin shirt and her dark suit pants spun around on her black shinning heels, her piercing green eyes immediately settling on Kate as a tiny smirk appeared on her lips.

"Miss Anderson, something tells me we have got a lot to talk about."

* * *

 _ **Some moment later.**_

The doctor's hands were cold on the warm skin of Kate's ankle as she examined it. Kate remained quiet as the elder woman slowly, gently moved her ankle in her hands, examining it after she examined the young brunette from head to toe for a few minutes earlier. Apparently, Bobby had contacted Doctor Parks the day following the first night Kate spent locked in the panic room, but she hadn't been able to come since she was out of town. But, when she came today, it was Dean who had asked her to check that Kate was one-hundred percent healed. When she agreed to, Bobby had then briefly explained to her the situation. The old man didn't want to go too deep in the details of the reason why the young brunette was locked in the panic room, but Doctor Parks was a trustworthy and understanding woman, so he didn't miss telling her the major points that would make the doctor understand the delicate situation. And, surely did she understand, even though it still didn't make sense for her that Kate, who showed an intelligence and bravery that was rare to see in the nowadays persons of her age, would come up with a plan that was dangerous and lethal for herself and this whole wide world.

"Alright, everything seems to be alright, aside from that tiny little shaving cut," Doctor Parks announced, gently putting Kate's foot back down on the bed.

"It's not easy to quickly shave when you have someone pounding at the bathroom's door every five minutes to make sure you're not doing something else than showering," Kate nearly muttered as she pulled the hem of her jeans down to her ankle.

"About that," Doctor Parks began as Kate grabbed her sock and put it on. "May I know your side of the story?" The young brunette looked up at the woman sitting on the other end of the bed. "According to Bobby, you have a plan to stop the end of the world. But, that very plan is also the reason why you have no right to leave this lovely room."

"Is that why you're here?" Kate asked, her eyes slightly squinting in suspicion. "You're here to tell me I'm wrong?"

"Should I?" Doctor Parks asked, causing Kate to lightly frown and look away. "Look, I have known Bobby for long enough to know that he would never refuse the possibility to put an end to what is happening in our world. If he is so against it, there must be a rational reason. Or an emotional reason, in which case I have to step in and make him understand that no emotional reason can ever be valid to prevent the stopping of the Apocalypse."

Kate watched Doctor Parks for a moment, not certain of what she could say and what she couldn't say. Nevertheless, the patience that was held in the elegant yet hard features of the woman in her fifties, made Kate realize that she truly trusted this woman. After all, this woman had helped her more than once and she had always been a good listener and never judged her. In some ways, Doctor Parks reminded her of Pamela Barnes.

"You remember that tattoo you got me doing so that my soul wouldn't be seen by other creatures?" Kate started and the doctor nodded in a way that showed she was giving her full attention to the young brunette. "Well, um, my soul, it's so powerful that it... It makes me powerful – or rather _resistant_ enough – to carry a weapon that can stop this whole mess."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming in," Doctor Parks murmured, her green eyes staring at Kate's face.

"Yeah... Well, this weapon, only the angels can give it to me."

"And, Bobby doesn't want you to make any sort of deal with the angels," the elder woman concluded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Which is understandable."

"I'm not hoping to make a deal with them," Kate explained. "The second they turn me into this weapon, I'll get back here to stop Lucifer."

"The second they turn you into this weapon?" Doctor Parks repeated, unsure to have heard her right. "When you said your soul made you resistant enough to carry this weapon, you meant to carry it inside of you and let it merges with you?"

"Kinda, yeah," Kate shrugged, causing the doctor's eyes to look down at the gesture before returning on the brunette's face.

"And, how do you know that –"

"That this weapon can stop the Apocalypse? It's the most powerful weapon that Heaven owns."

"No, that isn't what I meant to ask. What I wanted to know is how can you be certain that you will come out safe and sound from this fusion with such a weapon?"

"I'm not sure yet," Kate replied, looking away.

"So, here is the reason why you are locked in here," Doctor Parks declared, fixing at the young woman who avoided her gaze. "You want to kill yourself."

"I don't want to kill myself!" Kate exclaimed, moving her gaze back to the doctor.

"Well, that sounds like it. That sounds like you're giving up on who you are."

"You don't know who I am," the young woman replied in a slightly bitter tone.

"You're right, I don't," the doctor nodded. "But, I do know a few things about you, Kate. I know that you are an intelligent woman, but I also know that your intelligence is often – if not always – corrupted by your strong ability to blame yourself whenever something bad happens, which makes you very alike to the Winchesters according to Bobby. And, I know that you struggle with a loneliness that doesn't seem to want to leave you. It is that same loneliness that makes you care so much about people." Kate listened to her, brown eyes staring attentively at the woman who seemed to be reading her like an open book. "But, if it truly had been the Apocalypse that made you so guilty, you would have gone to the angels a long time ago. You feel guilty, but it isn't because of what has been happening to the world these past few months. Which brings me back to your sincere, profound care for people; for the people you are close to that is."

Kate swallowed down, her eyebrows slowly frowning on her forehead. "I-I don't understand what you're saying."

"What I'm saying, Kate, it is simple. I'm saying that it is someone you care about that made you so desperate to become that weapon," Doctor Parks replied as though reporting a fact. "And, I don't need to know you more than I do to know that. Listening to the way Bobby and all of the others talk about you is actually enough for me to know how you work. And, to be honest with you, your silence is rather traitor to what you are keeping secret; or rather _who_ you are keeping secret."

" _Is there something you're not telling me?"_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _I don't know... It's been weeks, months even, that you sound so... So weird. It's like something happened to you, but you don't want to tell me."_

" _I'm fine, Kate."_

" _No, you're not... If you were fine, then you would have tried to comfort me or to make me laugh so I can forget what happened yesterday in Garfield. That's what you used to do."_

" _Times are hard, Kate. What happened in Garfield is the same thing that's been happening everywhere. I've already told you what could stop it... But, maybe you shouldn't stop it... Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I shouldn't have given in..."_

Doctor Parks laid her hand on Kate's knee, pulling the young woman out of that flashback. Tears were threatening to leave her brown eyes as she clenched her jaw and looked down at the doctor's hand.

"Kate, whoever it is that you are trying to protect or to keep safe, you have to understand that it isn't a valid reason to risk your own life and the life of billions of innocent people. Even if you believe that it can also stop the end of the world, you cannot do this."

"Peo-people are already dying all around the world," Kate sobbed. "And, if I do that I'll be able to save this world and I-I'll be able to give to Sam and Dean the life they deserve. It's not just to save him – "

"' _Him_ '?" Doctor Parks repeated, causing Kate to slightly widen her eyes. However, the gentle squeeze that the doctor gave to her knee and her following words immediately reassured her. "Forget my question. Just forget it."

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Bobby was in the middle of his messy living room, having a phone conversation with a couple of newbies in the hunting world who were facing a wendigo on the east coast of the country. He spent these last couple of weeks helping hunters on the phone and trying to get some information about the untraceable crossroads demon who had the Colt. Sam and Dean helped him as much as they could, but with Kate locked in the panic room, their minds were usually elsewhere. Though, the old man's focus on his own work wasn't truly there either. He had been deeply concerned about the young woman since he learned about her plan, and it was only adding more stress to his already full plate. But, as full as it was, he knew that he couldn't give up on Kate. She was family, and there was no way he could give up on her. But, stubborn as she was, he and the Winchesters had no other choice than to keep her from going anywhere. It seemed a bit harsh and even cruel, but there was nothing else they could do. The young woman had shown her determination to carry out her plan with her words and also with trying to sneak out of his angel-proof house, so that she could contact Heaven.

The bearded man sighed as he finally hung up after the hunter on the other line recapitulated everything Bobby had told him. He put the phone on top of a pile of books about all the weapons that various myths talked about, and he glanced at Sam's abandoned laptop. The poor young boy was trying so hard to find something about the Light that could show to Kate that she wouldn't be able to control it. Bobby knew that it was in vain. He had looked up the internet and he had searched in hundreds of books to find any information about the Light. But, there was absolutely nothing. This supposedly most powerful weapon created by God didn't appear on any writings that was on Earth. For all they knew, the angels were the only one to know about the Light.

Bobby brought up his wrinkled hand and rubbed his eyes, when the sounds of footsteps made him wheel himself around so that he could face the people who were coming. It was Sam and Doctor Parks who silently walked in the living room. The old man watched as the young man went to stand at the kitchen's doorway, the expression on his face was enough for the old man to understand that Sam was impatient to learn what the green-eyed doctor had found out during her time in the panic room with the strong-headed young woman.

"So?" Bobby asked. "How did it go?"

"Well, she is even more stubborn than I thought possible," she replied, putting down her black suitcase and crossing her arms over her chest as she stood at the hallway's doorway.

"Yeah, that's not breaking news," Sam commented in a sassy tone, causing her to raise her eyebrows as she sent him an irritated look that got him to clear his throat and mumble a 'sorry ma'am'.

"Anyways," the dark-haired doctor shifted her attention back to the old man. "When you told me your version of the story, you conveniently omitted the part where the weapon she wants to turn into is the most powerful weapon of creation."

"Yeah, well, that ain't what's important," Bobby told her in reply.

"How can _that_ not be important?"

"I've already told you, Beth. This weapon is dangerous, for her and for the world. It's because it's so powerful that it's so dangerous. It was made for something bigger than this," Bobby explained, but when Beth kept staring at him, he decided to continue. "There's no way she'd be able to control it – "

"That's your theory," she interrupted him, causing the same furrowed expression to appear on the young man and the old man. "You have the possibility to put an end to the terror and the suffering this world is going through, but you don't want to give it a shot because it might mean the death of someone you care about."

"Of course we don't want to risk her life!" Sam exclaimed, a little outraged by the weird accusation that the doctor was doing. "For all we know, turning into the Weapon may mean that she has to die so that she'll be just an empty vessel for it!"

Doctor Parks slowly turned her head towards the young man, and in a calm tone she asked him, "So, you would rather keep her safe, locked downstairs like a captive, than letting her become the weapon that may save us all?"

"She's not supposed to save us all. It's not her job," Sam replied, no longer shouting although still quite agitated by the doctor's words. "She didn't choose to have this kind of fate thrown at her."

"Yet, here she is. Downstairs, waiting for you to let her out so that she can carry out her plan," Doctor Parks remarked, a serenity in her tone that started to get Bobby to realize that the doctor had something more to tell them.

"What is it?" The hunter with a cap on the head asked. The dark-haired woman moved her head back to him, a tiny smirk curved up her lips as she gave him an intense stare.

"You used to take less time to figure out what I'm doing, Bobby Singer," she told him, confusing the young Winchester who looked back and forth at them.

"I-I don't get it. What're you _doing_?"

"I am showing you that the world has no chance to make it through because none of you are being professional," she declared, unfolding her arms at the two men before continuing. "Your real fear isn't the risk of destroying the world by letting this young lady become that so great and destructive weapon. _No_. You are afraid of what will happen to _her_ if you let her become that weapon." Bobby and Sam didn't interject. They barely even glanced at each other, both very aware that the doctor's words were true. "So, you are willing to not give a shot to her plan; which is very ironic, because she seems to be doing quite the same."

"What do you mean?" Sam inquired in a little voice.

"The reason she is so desperate to become the weapon isn't just because she is the kind of person who blames herself to all the misery striking the world – of course, it affected her – but, it is not the reason," she looked back and forth at Sam and Bobby before continuing. "It is because of someone. Or _for_ someone... All I know is that she cares so much about _him_ that she is willing to sacrifice herself."

" _Him_?" Bobby repeated, looking right into her piercing green eyes.

"Yes, she did a little slip," Doctor Parks nodded. "I'm not certain who she was referring to, but I have a little idea," she turned her head to look at Sam with a slightly pointed look.

"Me?" Sam furrowed his brow.

"Or your brother," she shrugged before the doorbell rang.

"That must be Matt," Bobby announced, causing Sam to clear his throat as he decided to go open the door for the young dark-haired hunter.

The two elders remained quiet in the living room as they listened to the few words exchanged at the frontdoor as Sam let in the young, grey-eyed hunter in. Bobby was considering what his friend had just told them. It made sense, but Bobby wanted to believe that Kate was smarter than that.

"Hey," a weak voice echoed from the living room's doorway, causing the doctor to spin around on her heels.

"Matthew," Doctor Parks greeted, her smile not at its fullest and brightest at the sight of the young man.

He looked pale as ever, dark circles under his once sparkling grey eyes that now looked emptied of all his zest for life, and cheekbones sticking out like never before. His clothes looked a bit loose on him, but it was still noticeable that he had lost a bit too much of weight. Plus, the way he stood, his shoulders tensed and his hands buried in his hoodie's pockets made it clear that the young man was beyond tired. He looked worn out, depressed almost.

"What happened to you?" The green-eyed woman asked, sincere concern obvious in her features and her tone.

She knew Matthew Myers well enough to know that the young man standing before them wasn't him. She was aware that she didn't know him better than Bobby or some other hunters. After all, she had met the young hunter just a few times, but these times had been enough for her to know what kind of man he was. Matthew Myers was the kind of man who always cracked a joke when he came into a room. Matthew Myers was the kind of man who always cheered people up. Matthew Myers was the kind of man who shared his optimism through a few words and a smile.

"I'm fine," he replied, flickering his eyes to Bobby while the doctor kept her gaze on him, just like the quiet young Winchester standing in the hallway. "So, where's Kate?"

"She's downstairs," Bobby answered, his blue eyes scanning the young hunter from head to toes. "But you won't go anywhere before you tell us what happened to you. Unless, you want us to run a few tests."

"Tests?" Matt raised his eyebrows. "You think I'm possessed?"

"Either that, or you're a ghoul or a revenant," Bobby almost snapped at him. "I mean, you've seen your face lately?"

Matt took a deep breath, looking away for a moment. "I'm fine. It's just been a few _rough_ months," he returned his gaze to the old man. "You called me because you said Kate wanted to accept the angels' deal. So, can I go see her?"

"I thought you'd help us figure out what brought that idea up her little brain first," Bobby explained.

"I can do better. I can make her change her mind."

"What makes you think that you can make her change her mind?" Sam inquired, causing the young hunter all dressed in black and dark blue to turn his head to look at the tall, young man. "We've been trying for two weeks."

"Just let me see her."

Sam glanced at Bobby who gave him a little nod. "Alright, come on."

Doctor Parks remained quiet, a thoughtful expression on her face as she watched the dark-haired hunter following the brown-haired hunter. It was when they disappeared behind the door leading down to the cellar that it suddenly all made sense for her.

"Oh no," she let out in a whisper, although Bobby still heard her.

"What?"

"It's not Sam or Dean..." Doctor Parks trailed off, her thoughts still running and spinning in her mind.

"What are you talkin' about? Beth, what are you talking about?"

The woman turned around and looked right into his deep blue eyes. "The reason Kate is so desperate to become the Weapon... is Matt."

"What – I..." Bobby trailed off, his eyes moving to his messy desk as he reluctantly started to put two and two together. "He's called her a lot these past months. I thought maybe he knew something, so I asked him to come... I... You think Dean was right?"

"What did he say?"

"He... When I told him that Matt's been callin' Kate several times a day, he... He thought Matt persuaded Kate into becoming that weapon... But, he ain't a manipulative boy. You know him."

"Not as much as you do."

"Well, I'm tellin' you," Bobby told her, pointing at the hallway. "That boy, he's a good boy. He may be a pain in the ass, but he's a great hunter, a thoughtful person and a good kid. And, he cares about her. She's like a sister to him."

"Bobby," Beth gently whispered, tilting her head to the right as her facial features showed the understanding and compassion she had for him. "I know that he is a good person. I know that, but... Even the best of persons, with the best of intentions can be led to desperate and terrible measures sometimes."

"But, w-what would lead him to do that?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," she shook her head. "But, his physical condition and the glassy, sad and tired expression in his eyes... Whatever happened to him, it must have killed him inside."

"So, you really think Matt's the one who stuck that plan in Kate's mind?"

"Well, the conversation I had with her made it clear enough that a man was involved. And, you heard him before he went downstairs. He knows he has the power to influence her decision. He knows he can make her change her mind, because he is the one who put her into thinking that way in the first place. But, whatever led Matt to push Kate into being so determined to become that destructive weapon – "

"The son of a bitch," a rough voice groaned, causing the green eyed woman to whip around.

There stood Dean Winchester, a look of anger splashed all over his freckled face before he quickly turned and headed for the panic room.

"Dean, wait!" Bobby shouted after him. "Beth, stop him before he does something stupid!"

Beth glanced down at Bobby before quickly rushing after the young hunter. When she went through the wide opened door leading to the cellar, she saw him hurtling down the stairs. She tried her best to walk down the stairs faster, but Dean was already at the end of the staircase while she was just reaching the middle.

Dean was boiling with rage, his breathing was heavy, his jaw was clenched hard, his hands were tensed into tight, white-knuckled fists, and he had just one thing in mind. One goal. To make that son of a bitch pay for what he did.

"Dean, I thought you were taking a nap?" Sam asked as he was leaning against the edge of one of the messy tables that ran across the cellar's walls, just a couple of feet away from the big door pulled closed.

"Sam, stop him!" Doctor Parks shouted from the stairs. Sam lifted his head to look up at her, perplexed.

But, Dean didn't even acknowledge his brother as he went for the door that was obviously unlocked and pushed it open.

"Hey, wait!" Sam exclaimed as he realized that something was wrong if Doctor Parks was trying to stop Dean.

But, Dean still didn't acknowledge his brother.

Everything happened so fast.

One second he was stepping inside the circular room, taking by surprise both Kate who was sitting on the bed and Matt who was standing a couple of feet from her, and the other he was standing right in front of the young man.

"Dean, it's not – " Kate begun before she was startled by the violent punch the dirty-blond man launched right into the face of the dark-haired man who bent down, his hands immediately going up to the middle of his face.

"Dean!" Kate shouted, quickly leaping off the bed to stand in between the two hunters when she saw Dean trying to give another punch at the other hunter. She pushed Dean with her two hands on his chest. "What the hell?!"

Sam rushed in the panic room, his eyes traveling from one person to another, not understanding what had bitten his brother. Doctor Parks finally was at his left, and he looked down at her to see a defeated expression washing on her face as she looked at the three others in the panic room.

"That son of a bitch, he's the one who screwed with your mind, so you'll become the Weapon!"

Sam's eyes went round as he looked over at the dark-haired hunter who straightened up, taking off his hands from his face, which caused blood to drop from his undoubtedly broken nose.

"How do you have the nerve to show up here and to look at her in the eyes while you're leading her to her death!" Dean shouted, his green eyes dark from fury as he looked at the grey-eyed man who avoided his gaze.

"Stop it! It's not his fault! I knew it!" Kate shouted at Dean, causing him to drop his gaze down at her.

"You knew it?"

"I figured it out. A couple of weeks ago, we were on the phone and he was desperately trying to stop me from doing what he had been – " She stopped herself, preferring to not let Dean know how long Matt had been trying to get persuade her.

"From what I had been trying to persuade her to do," Matt finished, causing Kate to sigh through her nostrils and look away as Dean kept his piercing gaze on her.

"How long?" Dean asked, through gritted teeth, never looking away from the brunette standing in between him and the man he wanted to kill with his bare hands.

"Months," Matt simply replied, causing Dean to lift his gaze and look over Kate's shoulder to the young man whose nose and lips were covered with blood.

"You scumbag, I should finish you, right here, right now."

"Dean!" Kate exclaimed, shocked at his words.

"No, Kate. He's right," Matt declared and Kate turned her brown head to him.

"No, he's not. You shut up," she told him before her eyes dropped to his still bleeding nose. She moved her gaze to the doorway where Sam and Doctor Parks were silently standing. "Doctor, you should take him upstairs."

"I'm not done with him – "

"Yes, you are," Kate cut off Dean, her look and tone stern while Doctor Parks crossed the room and wrapped an arm around Matt's back to get him to follow her, but he was quite reluctant. "Matt, go. You don't owe him any explanation," the young woman simply said, keeping her brown gaze fixed at Dean's face.

"What? He doesn't owe me an explanation?!" Dean exclaimed. "You've been dying to carry out a stupid and suicidal plan because that fuckin' asshole manipulated you! He owes us all an explanation! No, screw that, I don't care about what he has to say – "

"It was my decision! It's never been his fault!"

"Will you fuckin' stop defending that son of a bitch!" Dean shouted while Doctor Parks still tried to make Matt walk towards the exit where Sam was standing, quietly watching what he couldn't even believe was happening. "He screwed up with your mind for months!"

"For God's sake, his attempts to persuade me into saying 'yes' to the angels never worked, Dean!" Kate shouted with frustration. "His arguments were lame! He wasn't even telling me something I didn't know! All I wanted to do was save him!"

Dean gave her a confused expression while Doctor Parks and Sam's gazes moved to the grey-eyed hunter whose looks were miserable.

"What happened to you, Matthew?" Doctor Parks asked in a gentle voice full of concern, which caused Dean to shoot his eyes to the dark-haired hunter.

The elder Winchester hadn't paid any attention at the physical appearance of the young hunter when he had barged into the room to kick his ass. But, as Dean looked at Matt now, he took notice of the paleness, the almost skinny silhouette under these loose clothes, the intensive gnawing on fingernails and the skin around and the dark shadows under a pair of eyes that seemed too full and empty at the same time.

"I'm fine," Matt simply replied, and Kate turned her head to look at him. He swallowed down and shifted his gaze to Dean. "She wanted to save me from Zachariah."

"Matt –"

"That's why she was gonna say 'yes'," Matt continued, ignoring Kate who didn't want him to feel forced to talk about something she knew wasn't easy at all.

"Zachariah tortured you?" Sam asked, taking a couple of steps in the iron-walled room.

"Not at first," Matt answered in a weak voice, looking over at the younger Winchester.

"So, at first you agreed on manipulating Kaitlin willingly," Dean remarked, a feeling of anger at Matt still lived inside of him even though the physical appearance of the scrawny hunter would have brought immediate remorse inside of him on any other day.

"At first, he gave me a better motivation," Matt explained, wiping the blood-covered skin between his nose and lips. "But, he took that motivation away from me when I started to put less efforts in trying to persuade Kate."

"What do you mean he took away that motivation?" Kate asked, her eyebrows knit together in confusion as she looked at Matt. Since Dean had burst into the panic room just a very few minutes after Matt had arrived, there were a couple of things that the two friends hadn't been able to talk about yet. They only had time for Matt to begin apologizing at her for his behaviour towards her before Dean punched the man right in the face.

Kate's question was one that the young man didn't want to answer right now. As a matter of fact, he had planned on talking about this before a long time. So, he just didn't say a word. He looked over at the doorway and made his way up to there, with Doctor Parks slowly and almost hesitantly walking with him. For a woman who was usually so in control of everything, this whole, confusing and delicate situation was taking the upper hand on her professional instinct to the point of not knowing what to say nor what to do.

"Matt, what do you mean he took away that motivation from you?" Kate repeated her question, putting more distinction in the words she pronounced as she feared for what her friend meant to say by these words.

Matt stopped at the doorway, Doctor Parks stopping with him, her hand still on his back in sign of support and encouragement for him to keep on walking.

"He took her away," Matt said in a low voice before he turned his head to look over his shoulder at the young woman who was staring at him with her big brown eyes. "He took Rosemary away. She's dead."

The pain in these two silver eyes as these six words left these thin blood-covered lips saddened the brunette so deeply that she was speechless and motionless.

When he went back to leaving the room with the doctor, Dean shook his head, starting to go after him to prevent him from getting out this so easily. But, Sam immediately stepped in front of the doorway, blocking his brother's way.

"Dean, no," Sam half-whispered to him, a concerned expression on his face as he tilted his head towards the frozen brunette.

Dean frowned, turned his head and looked at the young woman for a second before remembering her plan and the reason for her plan. He returned his gaze back to his brother and with a deep voice said, "Sam, move."

"Dean – " The younger man began, his hazel eyes staring at Dean with disbelief.

"No, you move. I don't care that that son of a bitch did what he did for a chick, he – "

"How dare you say that?" Kate's voice echoed from behind him. He spun around and looked at her as she continued. "You have no idea who she was – "

"I don't care who she was!" Dean cut her off, taking a couple of steps towards her. "Screwing up with the mind of someone you supposedly care about and risking to destroy the world so that you can get a chance at getting noticed by some chick and get into her pants ain't – "

"That's not what it was," Kate interrupted him, frowning. "Rosemary wasn't some chick. He's known her since high school."

"Oh, so because she was his high school crush, I gotta – "

"She was his girlfriend for years, Dean! He loved her more than everything and he never stopped loving her even when she fell into a coma five years ago. He's prayed for her to wake up," she explained, her brown eyes slowly filling with tears. "And he never stopped even when I told him that praying was pointless... He never stopped until one day he did. He stopped praying even though it was all he had left, because he knew that it would be dangerous if the angels heard him and managed to find him. He knew it would be dangerous for _me_ , so he stopped praying for the person he loved more than the world itself to wake up. All he wanted was for her to wake up. That's all he wanted. That's why he tried to talk me into saying 'yes' to the angels. He just wanted to save her."

"Still," Dean stated in a low voice. "It's no excuse for risking your life and this whole fuckin' planet! A hunter can't be selfish to the point of risking the lives of billions of innocents!"

"Really, Dean?" Kate whispered. "Turn around. Just turn around." He frowned and turned his head to see his little brother still quiet as he didn't move from his spot that blocked the only way out. "Now, look at me and tell me you'll never do what Matt did. Tell me you'd never risk the lives of billions of innocents to save Sam."

"It's different."

"No, it's not," Kate shook her head while Sam kept his hazel gaze on Dean's back, still a bit moved by the fact that Dean didn't deny what Kate told him. "It's not because Matt's love for Rosemary isn't a brotherly love that it makes it different."

"Why does it matter? You obviously had no idea about Rosemary," Dean told her, waving his hand at her.

"You're right," she nodded, licking her lips as she looked away. "When Matt started to talk to me about what was happening in the world, and how the Light was certainly the only way to stop it all, I just... I just let him talk. I was already aware of what was going on and I was already blaming myself for not being able to stop it all. But, nothing that he told me made me want to become the weapon," she explained before moving her brown gaze back to look into Dean's green orbs. "Because, I knew that I couldn't give up."

"He must have done something for you to feel like becoming the weapon could save him," Sam remarked in a sympathetic tone.

Kate looked over at him, "He lied. He... He kept lying whenever I asked him what was making him sound so weird, so tired and so... So different. And, then all of sudden, he started to tell me that all his ramblings about saying 'yes' to the angels was non-sense. He told me that I shouldn't listen to him. He started apologizing. I asked him why, I asked him what was wrong with him and he kept telling me that he was alright, that he was fine. But, his voice... His voice was so broken."

"Because he had lost Rosemary," Sam commented and Kate shook her head, tears escaping her eyes.

"Because he was being tortured by Zachariah."

"How did you figure this out?" Sam asked as Dean moved his gaze to the bed she had been sleeping on these past couple of weeks.

"I called Chuck," she replied wiping the tears away from her cheeks and clearing her throat. "He told me that Zachariah had started to torture him because he was giving up on his mission. He preferred to let Rosemary in a coma rather than let me becoming the Weapon so Zachariah tortured him. I-I couldn't let him go through that. And, with what happened at Garfield, it was too much. Back then, becoming the Weapon was the best way to kill two birds with a stone. Becoming the Weapon was the only solution I could think of. But now he's lost Rosemary..."

Kate glanced at Dean who remained silent and thoughtful as he stared at the bed. She didn't say a word as she headed for the door. The sound of her footsteps walking up the stairs caught Dean's attention. He looked at his brother who was watching her walk out without even trying to prevent her from leaving.

"Sam, why didn't you stop her?" Dean asked, quickly making his way to the door.

"There's no reason to, you heard her," Sam replied as Dean stopped and questioned him with his eyes. "Becoming the Weapon _was_ the only solution she could think of... It's no longer what she thinks."

* * *

When Kate reached the first floor of Bobby's house, she was automatically heading for the living room when the wide open front door grabbed her attention. However, it was the familiar voices coming from in front the house's porch that got her to understand where was the person she was looking for.

She stepped outside to find Bobby right next to the front door, looking over at Doctor Parks who was desperately trying to talk Matt into coming with her at the hospital where his broken nose could be taken care of.

"Matt!" Kate exclaimed at the young man who was attempting to get into his car and leave this place.

Bobby looked up at her and followed her with his eyes as she ran down the little slope that was built for the hunter to roll in and out of his house easily with his wheelchair. Within a second she was standing right in front of the young man as Doctor Parks took a few steps back, glancing at Bobby and then returning her green eyes to the duo.

"Kate, please, just go back inside," Matt pleaded her, looking down and catching sight of her shoeless feet.

"No," she replied, her hands reaching out to lay on top of his arm that was stretched out to open his car's door. She gave one of her gentle squeeze and got him to lift his grey gaze and meet her brown one.

Matt could see the sadness and compassion in Kate's eyes just as much as she could see the pain mixed to guilt and shame in his. It was the kind of expression that she had become used of seeing in this universe. Nearly everyone she met in this insane world held expressions that reminded her of the ones she had seen in the mirror several times in her past. Moreover, she had seen this expression in her late friend Alexander back in high school. It seemed that pain, shame and guilt were as multi-universal as happiness and love; or maybe even more than happiness and love.

"Kate, let him go," Bobby ordered. "I don't want him in my house anymore."

Out of shock, the young brunette whipped her head at the old man on his wheelchair.

"What?" She breathed out before repeating it louder, "What?!"

"You heard me. I don't want someone I can't trust in my house," the hunter said, a hard expression over his bearded-face that went well along the sternness of his voice.

"This isn't fair! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Kate exclaimed when Matt put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"No, he's right, Kate," the young man told her in his weak voice. She turned her face to look up at him and his pale face that devastated her earlier when he walked in the panic room.

She frowned, shaking her head at him, silently telling him that Bobby wasn't right and she wasn't going to let this go.

She quickly turned her head again, her brown eyes looking at the old man who was feet away from her, "Matt hasn't done anything wrong, Bobby! He's been tortured because he tried to keep me from becoming the Weapon – "

"After he spent months manipulating you to become the Weapon, Kate! He just confessed everything before you came, and I can't have someone like him in my house! Not someone who's got the balls to manipulate a friend they consider as a sister to become something that can be dangerous for the whole world!"

"No, you don't get it, Bobby," Kate said, taking one step forward. "All he wanted to do was save the woman he loved," she explained and the expression on the old man's face was enough for Kate to know that Matt hadn't mentioned this part to Bobby when he and Doctor Parks went upstairs. "All he wanted to do was save her, you out of anyone should know what it is," she continued in a calmer voice as she saw Sam arriving at the doorway. "If you had the chance to save the person you loved the most, whether your wife or your fiancée," she moved her gaze to Sam. Then she turned her head to look at Doctor Parks as she said, "Or your husband. You know that you would do the same. You would do anything to save them," she returned her gaze to the two men in front of the front door. "You wouldn't think twice if you had the chance to save them."

"No," Doctor Parks declared suddenly. Kate turned her head to look at her, puzzlement written in her brown orbs. "When the live of billions of innocents is at stake, no selfishness is acceptable. No emotion is acceptable. Hard choices have to be decided, sacrifices have to be made, that's all. In a world like ours, being selfish is signing everyone's death warrant."

"She's right," Matt murmured, causing Kate to return her attention on him. "And, even if she wasn't... It still doesn't feel right. What I did to you, there's no forgiveness for that."

"What are you saying?" Kate softly said, approaching him. "You're already forgiven; completely forgiven. – Hell, you don't even need me to forgive you."

"I wish that were true."

"It _is_ true," she told him, the sincerity sparkling in her eyes creating a weak, thankful smile on his thin lips. "I will always forgive you, Matt."

"I need time to... To forgive myself," he replied before he glanced at Doctor Parks who had gone to stand next to her own, precious car. Her words echoing in his head. He then looked over at Sam and Bobby who were silently watching them. "Don't try calling me," he looked down at the young brown-head and continued before she had the time to interject. "I'll be fine, and that's when I'll call you. Until then, please, Kate, find a way to save yourself."

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

When Matt drove away, Doctor Parks wasn't long to leave as well. It was then that Bobby and Kate had a serious conversation, and it permitted Bobby to have a better understanding at Kate's real motives. He realized that the young woman's motives were a melting pot of all the things that she blamed herself for. It was the earthquake back at Garfield that made her realize even more that she had to step in and do all she could to stop it all. But, it was also her affection for the people of this world that pushed her into thinking that she should sacrifice herself. When she found out that Matt was being tortured the way she had been and this because of her, she grew desperate as to put an end on his suffering and the world's. Nevertheless, all that mattered now was the fact that she had finally given up on her suicidal idea of becoming the Weapon.

Sure, he could have thought that she was lying to him in order to finally get out of the basement and have the possibility to carry out her plan, but the words she had told him and the way she had pronounced them, made him think otherwise. It seemed that in the little time that Matt had spent with Kate downstairs before Dean ran down there, Kate had come to change her mind. Somehow, Matt had succeeded on making the stubborn woman change her mind. He wasn't certain of how, but he didn't really care. The result was all he cared about. And, as thankful as Bobby was for that, his decision about not letting Matt into his house anymore remained intact. Although he could relate to the desperation of the young hunter to bring back the woman he loved, the old man still felt unable to trust a man who had done such betrayal that could have brought the end of the world sooner.

Bobby promised himself to still keep an eye on Kate in case she ever went back into thinking the way she had been stubbornly thinking these past couple of weeks. He also asked Sam for him and his big brother to stay another week at his place in order to have help watch Kate carefully. Sam had naturally agreed. Besides, he knew that their focus had to remain on finding the Colt, and staying at Bobby's instead of driving across the country allowed them to do so, especially now that they didn't have to worry about Kate – or at least not that much.

However, while the young woman was now free to stay out of the panic room, she still went in there after her conversation with Bobby. Thoughtful as he always was, Sam decided to go check on her. The afternoon had been so eventful for everyone, but he knew that it certainly had a bigger and harsher effect on the young woman.

When Sam arrived in front of the panic room, the door was wide open and he found the brunette sitting on the bed in silence, a deep expression filled her features as her brown gaze focused on a gym mat that was leaned against the wall across of her.

He lightly knocked on the door to announce his presence, and she wasn't even startled by him. She slowly turned her head to him, he gave her a gentle smile and said, "Hey."

"Hey," she murmured back, shifting her gaze back to the gym mat. Sam looked at her with sympathy before he went to take a seat next to her, the bed slightly dipping down with his weight.

"He's gonna be okay," he told her, his hazel eyes looking over at the gym mat she had told him in the past that Matt and she used during their training sessions all those months ago. She turned her head and looked up at his profile as she remembered the way he reacted earlier when they were going to have lunch.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry for complicating your life, especially these past weeks."

"My life has always been complicated, Katie."

"Still. I shouldn't have put more pressure on any of you. All I wanted was –" She stopped herself, her brown orbs looking straight into his green-hazel ones. "It wasn't just about these disasters; you know? And, it wasn't just about saving Matt..."

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his brow as she moved her gaze back to the gym mat.

"You know, when you're aware that you have the power of changing things, no matter how big they are, and then you end up in the middle of something terrible like that earthquake back in Garfield, you just... It's impossible not to feel guilty. I know you understand the feeling, Sam," she began.

Of course, Sam understood the feeling. He had been blaming himself for everything that happened since he freed Lucifer. But, the young man tried to work on that guilty feeling. He tried not to let it take him over to the point of not having the strength to keep on going on. There were good days, and there were bad days. Lately, there were more bad days than good days, but he kept on fighting. What else could he do?

"But," Kate continued. "Imagine that in addition to that, one of your friends is being tortured because they have remorse for trying to make you do things you didn't want to do. Imagine that they get tortured because they don't want any harm to be done to you. And, then imagine... Imagine that for you, they lose what matters the most for them," she bit on her bottom lip and looked down as Sam watched her carefully. "Then, imagine that... Imagine that you know you can be powerful enough to destroy all kind of pain and misery in the lives of those you care about. Imagine that you can give them what they deserve. A happy, normal life. Wouldn't you do anything in the world to give them that?" Sam frowned at that, his eyes scanning her profile as he wondered if she was talking about himself, his brother and all the other people she came to care so much about in this universe. "After all, maybe that's why I'm here. Maybe, I'm supposed to change things. Maybe, I'm supposed to save... To save you."

"No," he gently whispered, causing her to look up at him. "Remember the first time you asked to help us? I told you that we'll let you in the hunting world as long as you keep searching for your way back home. _That's_ what you're supposed to do. You're not supposed to do anything else… Besides," he added with a little smile. "You've already saved us, Katie."

"Then, why is there pain in your eyes?" She asked, her voice slightly cracking. "Why Dean keeps on having these nightmares? Why – "

"Katie, stop," he cut her off, turning so that he would face her properly. "Stop blaming yourself for everything. I'm telling you that you've already saved us, and I'm not making this up to make you feel better. You've really made a difference in our lives. Sure, I still have some inner demons to fight and sure Dean still has his own to fight, but that doesn't mean you haven't brought some light to our lives. You've saved us, Kate. You've saved us more than once and in more than one way."

The brunette felt the tears coming up in her eyes and before they fell down her cheeks, she raised her arms and wrapped them around him. She felt his arms sneak around her waist as he hugged her back.

"I'm sorry for making these past weeks harder than they should have been," she apologized as she rested her chin on top of his shoulder. "I know how much of a pain in the ass I can be sometimes," she added causing him to lightly chuckle. "And... thank you."

"For what?" He inquired in a soft tone.

"For keeping me safe," she whispered, closing her eyes as a tear streamed down her cheek. "And, saving me from myself."

* * *

 _ **L** ** _a_ ter that night.**_

The brunette tossed and turned in her bed a few times before groaning as she stopped. She grabbed her watch and tried to read the time on it but the darkness of her bedroom made it impossible. She let out a little sigh, her hand reaching to the bedside lamp to switch it on. She looked down at the watch she bought months ago, but a frown formed on her face as she realized that the arrows wouldn't move anymore.

"Seriously?" She muttered to herself, shaking the tiny device in hope that it would put it back in work.

She looked down at it again and groaned when she saw that it was still not working. She sat up, put her watch down on the nightstand and scratched the top of her head before dropping back on the bed. She could have checked what time it was on her cellphone, but with this eventful day she had completely forgotten to get it back from Bobby. She knew that she shouldn't be worried about what time it was and that she should have been sound asleep for an hour or so. But, as silence became king of Bobby's house not even a couple of hours ago, it was inevitable for her to think over and over again about the recent events. She kept it for herself, but her plan of becoming the Weapon still seemed a good idea in the back of her mind. But, the events of the afternoon made her understand that she couldn't risk becoming this weapon if she didn't have more information about how to control it. Moreover, she didn't want to risk becoming the Weapon and having Zachariah win; not after what he did to Matt.

A strange noise coming from outside pulled her out of her thoughts and a frown appeared on her face. She was certain that Bobby, Sam and Dean were fast asleep. Indeed, Sam had been the first to go to bed, and when she had walked Bobby to his little bedroom on the first floor, she had then returned to the living room to find Dean laying on the couch with no light on. Not saying a word, she had then gone upstairs to her own bed.

In only a large white t-shirt over her underwear, Kate slid out of her bed and walked to the window that overlooked the salvage yard where cars and pieces of cars covered a good distance. Curious to find out what had made that noise, she slightly pulled the curtain and her eyes instantly spotted the elder Winchester. He was laying on top of his car hood and as she stared at him for a moment, she wondered if he was asleep or if he was stargazing. The movement of his arm as he reached out for what she believed was a beer, answered that question for her.

Gently biting on her bottom lip, an idea crossed her mind as she turned her head to look over at her bed.

Within a few minutes, the brunette was walking out of Bobby's house through the backyard door. She had put on a pair of black joggings and had wrapped herself in one of her blankets, but she was still surprised by the very cold breeze that hit her. The weather was strange these past few months and she couldn't help wondering if it was also linked to Lucifer being out of his Cage. However, she knew that even though it was almost the end of August, there was never any kind of insurance that the climate would stay as hot as the other days of summer.

When she arrived just a few feet away from the shinning Impala and its owner, she stopped, took a deep breath through her nostrils and went back on walking up to him. She hadn't put on any shoes or slippers so when she stepped on a rock, she winced and let out a little yelp that caused Dean to sit up on his car's hood.

He frowned as he looked at her, the little light offered by the full moon on the sky full of stars permitted him to see her quite well and to notice that she was barefoot; like most of the times.

"I'm gonna start to believe that you have a phobia of shoes," he commented as she was hopping on one leg to massage the underneath of her foot.

"I don't have a phobia of shoes," she replied as she lifted her head to look at him. "I'm just used of not wearing shoes when I'm at home." She put her foot back on the dry soil, and looked up again to see Dean simply staring at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," he just said, looking down at the beer bottle in his hand. "You?" He asked as he brought the beer up to his lips.

"Couldn't sleep either," she replied, pulling the blanket to the front of her body. She bit on her lower lip and asked, "So, did you have dinner?"

When Sam had cooked some canned ravioli for dinner, Dean had driven down to town. He and Kate hadn't said a word to each other since the incident in the panic room.

"I grabbed a burger," he replied, putting the half-empty bottle of beer down next to him. He looked at Kate as she stood a couple of feet away from him, most of her body hidden under her beige and brown blanket. "But, according to Sam, you barely touched your food."

"I… I wasn't really hungry," she briefly explained in a little voice. Dean's green eyes studied her for a moment and then he looked away.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, taking the young woman by surprise. She stared at him with big brown eyes. She wasn't expecting him to apologize; for anything. Truth be told, he didn't have to apologize for anything. "I lost my temper this afternoon. And, although I don't exactly regret punching Matt in the face, I'm sorry for what happened to him and for what it did to you. And, I guess I," he paused, looking away for a short moment before moving his gaze back to her. "I was afraid of losing you."

Kate was speechless. She cherished these rare moments when Dean let out the things that he usually buried deep inside of him. It felt warm and reassuring to hear Dean says these words after all they've been through. It dawned to her the long way they had come for him to truly let her in, and although she had known for a while that he trusted her and considered her as family, this time it was different. This time he wasn't saying that she was family to Sam, Bobby and him. This time he wasn't saying that they all cared about her. This time he was admitting his own feelings without blending them with someone's else feelings to make them general. This time he was saying that _he_ was afraid of losing her. And, for once, Kate didn't know what to say in return.

"And, so, you decided to have a chick flick moment by yourself and stargazing while everyone's in bed?" She decided to tease him, and Dean was thankful that she did. He wasn't sure he would have been able to find better words to explain the way he felt if she asked him.

"Actually, that's something Sam and I do a lot when we're on the road," he told her, looking up at the sky full of stars. "We'd stop in the middle of nowhere, and we'd sit on the hood to watch the stars. That's a good way to feel at peace for a few hours."

"I didn't know," she murmured, her head slightly thrown back so that she could look up at the countless stars illuminating the sky with the moon.

"Yeah, well, we haven't done this for a while, actually," Dean replied, moving his head to look at the brunette who was watching the stars. He couldn't help the soft smile that grazed his lips as he realized that she had brought him enough peace to not feel the need to park in the middle of nowhere with his brother and look for peace and serenity in between the stars.

"Mind if I join you?" She inquired, her head put back in a normal position as they looked right into each other's eyes. With no word, Dean moved his beer away and scooted over, signalling her that she was welcome to sit next to him.

The brunette approached the car and she tried to climb on top of its hood without falling on it, but soon she felt Dean's calloused hands gently helping her hop on his car. With no effort, the green-eyed hunter had the brown-eyed woman sit next to him. They both scooted back so that they could lay their legs along the hood, when Dean sneezed.

"You wanna share the blanket?" She offered and he looked down at her, his eyes glancing down at the blanket and then returning up to her soft face.

"I'm good," he shook his head before he took his beer and drank another sip of it. He looked down at the bottle and then handed it to Kate who was sitting on his right.

"I'm good," she told him, refusing the beer. He gave a light shrug and put the beer down at his left.

"So, no more plan involving the Weapon is running in that little mind of yours?" Dean asked, trying to sound casual, but it was obvious that he wanted to make sure that she really was done with that plan.

"Yeah, no more," she replied, her gaze glued to her fingers that she had sneaked out of the blanket, on her lap. "And, about that…" She trailed off, causing him to look at her with slightly raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry. I really am. I know that I've made those past few weeks hard on you while you're already going through a lot," she apologized, her eyes focused on her fingers. "And, I really didn't want to."

"I know. Sam told me," Dean replied, causing her to look at him and to immediately have his eyes meet hers. "Besides, you did say that you had a curse to unintentionally turn everything into drama."

"Did I?" She inquired, not remembering having told him any of those words. "I mean, did I really tell you this?"

"You warned me months ago," he nodded before glancing down at her feet that weren't hidden by the large blanket covering her from her shoulders to right below her knee. "You were barefoot as well, that night. I suppose that's what prevented me from taking that warning seriously." Kate's lips curled into an amused smile that she tried to suppress by pressing her lips together. Dean couldn't help his own lips to curve into a smile as he watched her turn her head and look up at the sky, somehow a bit embarrassed as he kept his sparkling green eyes glued on her.

"So, do you know anything about astronomy?" She asked, her eyes traveling from one star to another.

"Actually, I do," he replied, bringing his hand up as he pointed at a star cluster. "This is the Sagittarius constellation."

"Really?"

"No, I just made it up," he chuckled as she frowned and lightly elbowed him in his ribs. He let out another amused chuckle as he glanced down at her. "Alright," he cleared his throat and then he showed her that he did know a few things about astronomy.

He told her that it was late television nights and some readings that gave him a few, impressive knowledge about astronomy. She found herself drifting her gaze away from the sky to watch him as he kept his eyes on the stars above while telling her some detailed things about outer space. She was mesmerized by his profile, from his strong jaw and his lips moving everytime a sentence walked out to the corner of his eye that would wrinkle everytime he'd squint his eyes while explaining something a bit more complex that he wasn't sure of. With a reminiscent expression on the face, he chuckled as he told her that once in a while he'd tell one of those things to Sam who would just gape at him.

"The kid thinks he's the only one who reads – " Dean cut himself short when he turned his head and noticed that Kate was staring at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she blinked a few times before looking down at her fingers. "I just realized that I'm… I'm afraid of losing you, too."

Dean watched her for a moment, her words causing his heartbeats to increase in a way that was truly rare to him, but that happened quite often when he was around her. There was something special about her; something unique. The truth was that no one had ever aroused these kind of feelings in him, and he didn't know what to think about it.

"Hey," he whispered in his deep voice as he put one of his large, calloused hand on top of hers. He gently squeezed her soft, tiny hands the way she always did and continued in a louder, yet very calm and reassuring voice, "You ain't gonna lose me." She looked up at him, his intense gaze giving more strength to his words. "We're gonna fight all together and no one's gonna give up. _And_ , no one's gonna lose anyone."

Kate gave a little, heartfelt smile. He had a way to make her feel safer than anyone else.

She delicately moved closer to him and she rested her head on top of his shoulder. Dean stayed still, not having a single clue as to what he was supposed to do or not to do. He glanced at his hand still on top of hers and wondered if he should remove his hand at least. However, as he felt her hands relax underneath his, he shifted his gaze to her brown curly head, a soft smile appearing on his face. He relaxed and looked up at the sky as calm embraced them. Something told him that the days to come were going to be less rough and complicated than the ones they had been through lately. The mere thought of catching up on his sleep with the chance to not have that much nightmares brought comfort to him.

As he subconsciously rubbed the back of her hand, her words echoed in the back of his head.

" _I'm afraid of losing you, too."_

Strangely enough, these words comforted him in this quiet night that followed such an eventful day. He glanced down at her and then returned his attention to the sky, the calm given by the shinning stars had nothing on the magical calm she was giving him.

* * *

 **Author's note :**

 **Life has been pretty crazy lately. Between university and my new part-time job, I've been struggling to update as often as I used to, and I'm really sorry about that. Nevertheless, I don't plan on stopping this story anytime soon! I've realized that writing truly helps me deal with my stress and all these kind of stuff. Besides, whenever I get a little mark of appreciation for my work whether it's by readers following me, putting the story in their favorites or by leaving me a review, I just get extremely excited and happy, to the point of doing all I can to find more free time to keep on writing this story.**

 **So, again, thank you for taking on your own free time to read my story, and I sincerely hope that you still enjoy it.**

 **About this chapter, I'm not gonna lie, I don't like how it came out. But, after several changes, I decided to leave it like that, because it has to be like that for the characters' development and for the next chapters. Anyways, if you didn't like this one, I promise that you're gonna love the next chapter! Out of all the things I've written, the upcoming chapter is one of my favorites. Even though, it will be settled in the very sad episode 'Abandon all Hope' (5x10), I assure you that there'll be moments that will make you smile and even swoon... It will also be a very important chapter since it will answer to many questions! Watch out, because this chapter will certainly be here in about a couple of weeks ;)**

 **And, now I wanna thank every single person that left a review on the last chapter! I promise that on my next AN, I will answer to each of these amazing reviews you left! You guys are awesome and you encourage me to write, so thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul. :)**

 **Take care of you,**

 **A.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Dear readers,**

 **First, I want to thank each and all of you for the lovely support that you constantly give to my story and to myself.**

 **As most of you know, terrible events happened in Paris since my last update, and I live in Paris… I'm not here to talk about this, simply because I am aware that many other places – and many other people – all around the world go through their own hell. As beautiful as the world is, some horrible things happen sometimes, and we have to accept it and try to move on. But, it isn't always that easy to be done, and to be aware of all these horrible things happening in the world doesn't really help…**

 **But, I know that what helped me is the kindness and support that I received from my family, my friends and from you guys. The words you sent me through reviews or PM touched me more than I can say. Kindness is the most beautiful gift that you can ever give to someone. Please share your kindness with the rest of the world as much as you shared it with me!**

 **Alright, now that I said what I wanted to say, I wish you a very nice reading of this eleventh chapter that was edited by the amazing '** **Igotzapped'** **!**

 **This chapter is based on the episode '** _ **Abandon All Hope'**_ **(5x10).**

* * *

 _ **A few weeks later.**_

 _ **South Dakota, Sioux Falls. At Bobby Singer's.**_

" _But, Professor, would you call it a miracle?"_ The blond-haired woman in a bright green shirt asked, her shiny red lips pursed as her big blue eyes stared at the old man wearing glasses at the end of the table.

" _A miracle, that's a big word!"_

" _Yes, but you said it yourself. There's no explanation as to how we came from having months of disasters to an entire month of such calm,"_ the black-haired man in a dark blue suit, sitting next to the blond woman, remarked as he waved his hand to the grey-haired professor.

" _Exactly,"_ the blond nodded. " _We've been through a few rough months filled with one disaster after another, and all of sudden, nothing. It's been a month, and there has been no seismic activity, no tsunamis, and even the heatwave that had consumed more than half of the planet is gone. It is wonderful news, but_ _ **how**_ _?"_

" _What explanation do you want me to give you?"_ The professor laughed while the two reporters smiled brightly at him. " _I've already explained to you how the Earth's magnetic fields have been disrupted to the point of causing a factory explosion in Russia, a volcanic eruption in Asia, and seismic activity nearly everywhere! Anyways, like I told you a lot of disturbances happened within the Earth and gave us these terrible months. But, to explain how it stopped in just a month? Well, this is our planet going back to spinning as calmly as it used to!"_

" _Let's just hope that it's not the calm before the storm!"_ The blond reporter exclaimed with a little laugh.

" _Oh, no! Not at all! The things that you must take in account are that –"_

The ringing of one of the many phones hung to the one of the kitchen's walls, caused the brunette's attention to be grabbed away from the television. She quickly stood up from the edge of the couch she was sitting on and went to answer the call. Right when she pressed the phone's button and put it against her ear, she saw smoke coming out of the oven. Her brown eyes went wide.

She quickly rushed to open the oven while the woman on the other end of the line introduced herself and asked information about a man she found in a crime scene and who claimed to be a federal marshal. But, Kate wasn't paying much attention to the woman on the other end of the line. She stuck the phone between her shoulder and ear as she grabbed the serviette out of reach and tried to get the apple pie out.

"Kate, what the hell is going on?!" Bobby exclaimed as he wheeled himself into the living room and immediately spotted the smoke coming from the kitchen.

The brunette spun around and tossed the phone to Bobby who was just rolling into the kitchen's doorway. He frowned as he heard a woman speaking on the other end of the line. He took over and gave to the woman all the information that would make her leave the hunter do his job. Meanwhile, Kate pulled the platter with the overcooked apple pie out of the oven and put it on the work surface.

She went to open the door leading to the backyard and started to move the serviette in the air to wave off the smoke as she heard Bobby coughing after he hung up. She returned in front of the plate she had been preparing for over an hour and a half, and pouted at the sight of it. It was completely burned.

The smoke filling the air was a giveaway of what happened to the apple pie, but Bobby still asked, "So, how did it go this time?"

Kate simply turned around to look at the cap-hatted man with the phone on top of his lap. A pout mixed to an expression of defeat painted her facial features, and the old man did his best not to laugh at her. It was the third pie she had vainly tried to bake since nine in the morning. She knew that she was lame at anything kitchen related, but she had succeeded on cooking and baking a few things in the past. She fairly believed that baking a pie wouldn't be that hard, but it turned out to be quite of a complicated mission. First, she ruined the crust recipe, then she butchered the apples that were supposed to go into the pie, and finally, she overcooked the poor mess.

"It happens to the best of us," Bobby tried to comfort her.

"Three times in a row?" She asked with raised eyebrows and he didn't have time to answer as they both heard the familiar purring of the Impala echo from the outside. "I thought they weren't supposed to be here before two this afternoon!"

"It's a little bit past two, Kate," the old man informed her, and she sighed, realizing that she hadn't seen time passing by when her attention was caught by the television program.

"I'm gonna welcome them," she half-mumbled as she walked by Bobby who gave her a nod before looking over at the ruined pie as his stomach slightly growled and he wished the pie didn't burn.

When Kate pulled the front door open, she was immediately met by the young Winchester in his beige-brown jacket as he just finished opening the screen door. Her face lit up when she saw his dimpled face free of any kind of injuries.

"Hey!" She greeted him, her arms reaching up to give him a welcome-back hug before she noticed that he was carrying a bag on each shoulder, causing her to stop mid-action. "Did you go shopping?"

"No, that's actually Dean's bag," he told her as he bent down so she could give him the hug she was going to before leaving her arms hanging in the air.

"Why isn't he carrying it? Don't tell me you lost a bet again?" She asked him, patting his back as best before stepping back to let him in.

"No, he's actually pretty worn out," he replied as he walked in and she looked over at the Impala while he continued his way to the living room. "What the hell happened in here? Why is there smoke?" She heard Sam exclaim before she went on walking down the flight of stairs next to the little slope.

The weather was a perfect mix of a Summer sun and a fresh Fall breeze in this day of mid-September. Kate had actually enjoyed this weather the past couple of weeks as she had done some of her researches sitting in the backyard.

She approached the car, her head a bit cocked to the side so she could take a look inside the beautiful black car. She couldn't help the little smile that appeared on her naturally red lips as her brown eyes spotted the man she was looking for.

It had been a couple of weeks since the Winchesters had gone back to hunting while she stayed at Bobby's place. After some time staying put at Bobby's, Dean had started to get fidgety, and the exhausting search for the Colt and the crossroads demon who had it had begun to drive the green-eyed hunter crazy. As peaceful as the days had been after Kate had promised to no longer try carrying out her plan of becoming the Weapon, Sam and Dean didn't want to wait for the Colt to be located for them to go back into the family business. So, they decided to go hunting and to leave Kate to rest safely at Bobby's. The young woman had used that time with the old hunter to forge back the close friendship they had built up over the months and that had suffered a little after Matt had been banished from the old man's house when they all found out that he had been one of the main reasons behind her plan.

During these last two weeks, Sam and Dean had successfully solved three cases in the nearby states, while still coming back in between. Even though Kate was staying at Bobby's and the old man tried to get her to detach herself a bit from the hunting world, she still helped the two brothers with their research and gave a hand to Bobby and his own work. Time had gone by at a brisk pace, and although the only news Kate got from Matt was through Rufus Turner, she was quite relieved that things were going better than the previous months had been.

Kate bent down in front of the Impala driver's door, the wind causing her past-shoulder length brown curls, to gently waltz in the air. She bit on her bottom lip, an amused expression all over her face as she watched the elder Winchester with his head thrown back on his driver's seat and his eyes shut closed. She glanced down at his leather jacket that he wore above a black shirt and then she returned her attention to his beautifully shaped face.

"Nobody told you it's rude to watch people?" He asked gently although his voice was rougher than usual.

"Nobody told you it's rude to use your little brother as a servant?" She asked in return. He cracked one eye open and looked at her. He opened his eyes and turned his head to have a better look at her pretty face that she tilted to the side. He couldn't deny that he had missed her these past three days. He had become truly addicted to the calm she brought to him; even more, since that night they spent stargazing on the top of his car's hood.

"Those are clearly the words of an only child," he replied as he reached for the door handle and she stepped back to let him open the door.

"You sound exhausted," she remarked as he climbed out of the car. She watched him stretch his back, a wincing expression on his face. "You look exhausted." He looked over at her as he yawned. "You _are_ exhausted," she finally stated.

"You have no idea."

"At least, you're not injured," she smiled at him before he raised his right hand she grimaced as she approached him. She automatically took his hand in hers and grimaced at the dry blood that covered half of his hand and at the purple bruise that had formed on his knuckles. "Is that your blood or the creature's?" She looked up to find him shrug at her in reply. "Seriously? You should have taken care of it before hopping in your car. Aren't you afraid of getting some demonic tetanus?"

"I wanted to hurry up for the pie," he grinned at her.

"Oh, right," she said, slowly lowering his hand with hers before taking hers away. "I really, really tried to bake you the pie, but…"

Dean glanced down at the smudged flour on her long-sleeved brown t-shirt and on her denim pants. There were even some traces of flour on her black slippers. "But, you preferred using the flour to cover your clothes?"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "I just had some troubles baking the pies."

"The _pies_? As in plural?"

"Yeah, there were several attempts," she replied, her tone a bit reluctant to admit such failure as he stared at her.

"Not one success?" He asked and she made an apologetic face mixed to a sort of grimace.

"I'm sorry. I told you I can't bake with these hands of mine," she told him, holding her hands up and turning them almost wildly until he dropped his right hand on top of them to stop her.

"Yeah, but you can still take care of my injury with these hands of yours," he told her as she looked up to meet his sparkling green eyes. "So, don't get mad at them."

"Right," she lightly chuckled before she slightly tilted her head to the side as she squinted her eyes at him.

"What?"

"Your hair… It looks a bit darker than usual," she remarked, her brow slightly crinkling. "Did you dye it?"

"What? No," he frowned at her, sounding a bit outraged by her words, which of course got her to chuckle amusedly.

"It's good to have you back," she genuinely said to him, naturally wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a hug that he returned, his uninjured hand gently rubbing her mid-back as she stood on her tiptoes.

An old memory that had been returning to him everytime he came back from a solved case with his brother, popped in the back of his mind again.

It was a memory of what his future-self had told him when he had travelled to 2014.

It was a memory of what his future-self had told him about Kate.

It was just a few words that had triggered a feeling of jealousy within him.

It was just a few words that had gotten him to envy his future-self.

" _She was there for me. Everyday. After every mission, she was there waiting for me…"_

* * *

 _ **Some moment later.**_

Dean watched the young woman as her chocolate brown eyes were focused on the gentle, precise movements of her fingers. She may not have been good at using her hands to bake a whole pie, but there was no denying that she could take care of injuries like a real nurse. Dean couldn't help but smile as she bit on her bottom lip while wrapping the band-aid around the ring finger of his left hand. When the dirty-blonde hunter lifted his green gaze up, he was met by Sam's smug look, which caused Dean to frown at him before focusing his eyes on the first-aid kit on the coffee table as though it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

"Katie, you didn't have to do this," Sam declared as he walked over to Bobby's desk and sat across of the old man who was sipping on his scotch while listening to a recording with head-speakers in his ears.

"Well, then you should have done it yourself right after the hunt," Kate replied, sitting on the edge of the table as she kept her eyes glued on the hand of the green-eyed hunter sitting on the couch.

"I would have if he'd let me. But, I don't know why he didn't want me to," Sam told her, grinning at his big brother who glared at him.

"What?" Kate inquired, looking up at Dean who immediately stopped glaring. "Why didn't you want him to – "

"You finished?" Dean cut her off in an obnoxious way.

"Um, yeah, I'm done," she nodded as she started to gather everything back into the first-aid kit. "By the way, where did your mother's ring go?"

Sam's eyebrows shot up on his forehead as he looked back and forth at Dean and Kate. He was genuinely surprised that Kate knew the ring Dean was always wearing in his right hand was their mother's. The thing was that Dean had never ever mentioned the origin of this ring to anyone. Sam could easily remember the time Ellen asked his big brother about this ring, only to be answered by a shifting of topic. He wondered how far Dean went in sharing personal information about his past with Kate. He knew his big brother better than anyone else did in the world, and he knew that Dean wasn't the kind of man to open up that much about himself or his past; especially if it involved their parents. Sure, he knew that Kate wasn't anyone to them. The young woman had done so much to them and there was no denying that she had become a precious friend to them. It was more than that: she was family, now. But still, he would have never imagined his big brother able to speak up about some personal things that he buried deep inside of him. Although he knew his brother's affection for Kate was deep and strong, he found it incredible that Kate unlocked such parts of Dean.

Sam could easily remember the first days of her arrival in their world. Dean was going through so much that he was blinded by the way he behaved with Kate. He was putting a lot of distance between himself and the young brunette; not sure if he could trust her or not. But when he realized he could trust her, then it all started to get better between all of them. Back then, they were all convinced that in no time they would find a way to send her back home. But, time passed by, and Fall turned into Winter that quickly turned into Spring, and finally Summer. And, now, there was only a few days left before Fall came back to replace Summer. All these seasons, all these months, all this time and still they hadn't found any safe and certain way to send her back. All their hope for her to go back to her safe universe, relayed on some Guardian that none of them knew if they could trust or not. The only problem for Sam now was that he knew he wasn't ready to see her go anytime soon.

Watching the interaction between Dean and Kate, the young Winchester knew that he wasn't the only one to feel this way.

"Don't tell me you lost it," the young woman continued, sincere concern wrapped in her voice.

"No, I've got it," he replied as he thrusted his left hand in his jeans' pocket to pull the silver ring out. Sam watched his brother looking down at the ring he had been wearing ever since his father let him have it. The softness written all over Dean's face as he stared at the tiny object in the middle of his left palm, was indescribable. As the elder Winchester lifted his eyes to look at the brunette, Sam was more than surprised to see nearly the same expression on the freckled face.

A ringing pulled Sam out of his observation. It was one of Bobby's phones hung on the kitchen wall. He looked at Bobby who waved at him to go answer the phonecall since he was too focused on what he was listening to for a research of his own. Sam obliged. He stood up and went to answer it in the kitchen, passing by the two others.

As Sam picked up the phone and walked to the fridge, Dean handed his mother's ring to Kate who looked at him with confused eyes.

"If you could keep it in a safe place until I can slide it back around my finger," he told her, but she didn't take it.

"Maybe you could just put in the other hand instead?" She suggested to him, glancing back and forth at him and at the ring.

"Nah, I don't want chicks to think I'm married," he scoffed, insisting with his hand for her to take the silver ring. She slowly and delicately took it in between her forefinger and thumb.

"Too bad," she commented, her brown eyes looking at the tiny yet so important object in between her fingers. "I've heard that women are more attracted to taken guys than single ones." He raised his eyebrows at that as she looked up at him. "Don't tell me that changed your mind?"

"No," he replied. "I don't want to use my mother's ring for that kind of thing."

"Yeah, I guess it would be disrespectful for her," Kate agreed in a soft voice as she returned her eyes on the ring. "If you want I can put it in a necklace so you can still have it on you for the time being?"

Dean's green eyes lit up at the brunette's suggestion, and within a second, a grateful smile formed on his lips as he nodded at her, "That'd be great."

"Balls!" Bobby said out loud from his desk, breaking the calm in the room. The old man put off the head-speakers that were plugged in his ears and threw them on his desk as he grumbled something that neither Dean nor Kate could make out.

"Everything's okay, Bobby?" Dean asked, looking over at the old man who muttered under his breath while turning the pages of the big book that was laying open on his desk. Dean turned his head back to Kate and they exchanged a look before Sam rushed in the kitchen's doorway after he just hung up.

"Hey guys," Sam exclaimed, the phone in his hand as a rather excited expression was on his face.

"What?" Dean asked, his puzzled gaze traveling over his brother's dimpled face.

"It was Rufus," Sam started, referring to who had been on the other end of the line. His hazel eyes went from his brother, Kate and then to Bobby before going back at looking straight into his big brother's eyes. "He found where Crowley works."

"What?" Both Bobby and Kate breathed out, both taken aback.

"Crowley as in that crossroads demon we've been killin' our asses to locate these past months?" Dean asked.

"The one and only," Sam nodded.

"How?" Kate inquired, looking up at Sam with knitted eyebrows. "How did Rufus find him?"

"Who cares?" Dean chipped in before excitedly tapping on the brunette's knees. She turned to look at him and was met by a grinning Dean. "We got him, we got the Colt – "

"We got Lucifer," Bobby finished from his spot behind his desk, causing everyone to look at him. "Damn, finally!"

"Should we crack a bottle open?" Dean joked causing Sam and Kate to scoff and chuckle. "Wait, you have the address first?" He asked, pointing at his brother who nodded with a bright smile on his face that only made Dean smile bigger. Kate looked back and forth at the two brothers, amazed by how happy and relieved they were to finally know where that crossroads demon was. "Well, Bobby where do you keep your most valuable bottles?"

"As much as I would love to celebrate, maybe we should get Cas to check the place out first?" Kate suggested, turning her head to look at Bobby. "I mean, you've said it yourself the other day: Rufus isn't that reliable when it comes to research."

"She's got a point," Bobby nodded. "We've been lookin' for that demon for months, I wouldn't be surprised if Rufus got the wrong lead."

Dean looked at Kate and then at Sam who gave him a shrug as he said, "There's no harm in calling Cas."

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours later.**_

Standing in front of the Impala's opened trunk, Kate shook her head, not believing what she was reading. A few minutes earlier, Sam had told her that some of Chuck's old manuscripts about her were still in their trunk, in the back bag that had been hers before the angels captured her all those months ago. The young woman had then immediately gone to get these manuscripts. She knew Chuck well enough to assume that he would have written things that she would have never agreed for him to. Although she knew that the brothers had already read these manuscripts months a while ago, she still preferred to take these pages and make a bonfire with them.

The desire to add Chuck in the middle of that bonfire grew in her when she started to read a peculiar paragraph. It was a paragraph in which Chuck had written a dream of hers; not any dream. It was a memory of one of her nights with her ex-boyfriend and Chuck had made sure to write be quite detailed.

"I'm gonna kill that prophet," she muttered to herself.

"You can't do that," a familiar rough voice appeared behind her, startling her enough to drop the pages on top of the weapons displayed in the trunk.

She closed her eyes and exhaled a long sigh, "And, I was gonna say I missed you, Castiel. But, really, sneaking up on me is – " Kate started to say, turning around, but she stopped when she saw the look on the trench-coat angel who was standing just two feet away from her. "You're okay?" She asked in a whisper, concern filling her.

"Dean said he had a lead on the crossroads demon," Castiel told her, avoiding her question, and even avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah, um, we've got a lead," she confirmed before approaching him. She moved her head so that her eyes could meet his deep blue ones, and said, "But, that wasn't my question."

"I'm okay," he simply declared.

"You're not," she gently shook her head. "We haven't seen each other since the earthquake back in Kansas, but I can still see that you are not okay."

Castiel watched her face for a moment. Being an angel gave him the power to see a human's soul, but he was also able to see a human's face. Though like most of the angels, he preferred focusing on the souls of the humans when he was faced with one. Simply because the souls carried a beauty and a story that wasn't often visible on the outside. The humans always made sure to hide who they really were, but their souls could never hide anything from an angel. Still, it didn't mean that Castiel never paid any attention to the humans' corporal forms; after all these were also his Father's work. The angel spent long moments staring at people in order to admire both their soul and their body. He could never stop being amazed by the fine work of his Father, and whenever he looked at Kate, he was reminded that his Father's work was even greater than he could have ever imagine. Sure Kate's soul wasn't visible anymore, but he remembered with bright clarity the days he could look at her soul of another universe. He wouldn't pay any attention to her physical appearance; too hypnotized by the magnificent beauty of her soul. But, when she got her tattoo, he came to look at the envelop of her soul, and he instantly realized that the softness and strength of her soul shone on her face, in a way that made him trust her as much as the Winchesters and the old hunter that was like a father to the two brothers.

"My search for God," Castiel begins, furrowing his brow and moving his blue eyes to look away. "Is it pointless?"

Kate was taken off guard by his question, "I… W-what makes you say that?"

"Dean gave me an object that can lead me to God, but," he paused, walking a few steps away from her while her eyes followed him. "I have been looking for him for months now. I still haven't found him. I'm starting to believe that I might not find him."

"You're losing hope?" She asked in a little voice. He looked at her and she shook her head. "You shouldn't. I mean, look at us. We've been looking for that demon who has the Colt for almost as long as you've been looking for God. And, right when we were starting to lose hope that we'll ever get our hands on him, we got the address of the place he always makes his deals." Castiel didn't say anything, he just stared at her. She licked her lips and bit on her bottom lip as she approached him. "Look, I know how hard it is, but you gotta hang onto that little thing in you that still makes you look for God. You gotta hang onto that. You can't give up because it seems to go nowhere."

"But, even if I find Him. If God left… Then who am I to get Him back?"

"You're the angel that doesn't give up," she softly told him. "Among all the angels who gave up on Him, you're the one who never did. And, I believe that if there's one thing He can't let down, it's the one angel who never stopped fighting for His Creation even when his brothers and sisters cut him off Heaven and weakened his powers. If there's one thing God can't let down, it's the angel who never gave up. It's _you_."

Castiel scanned the young woman's face, not paying any attention to the seemingly normal soul that her tattoo gave as an illusion. There was a sincerity and determination to comfort and make people feel better on her face that he often saw on Dean's face.

"What about you?" He asked her, causing a confused expression to appear on her facial features.

"What about me?"

"Do you still want to give up?"

"I never wanted to give up," she replied, her brow furrowed.

"You were going to become the Weapon," he stated and she sighed.

"Yeah, I know. But, it wasn't about giving up," she explained. "I just believed that it was the only way to save everybody… I thought that if I could become the most powerful _thing_ of the world, then I could… I could stop these disasters, I could save all these innocents, I could save the people I care about... Did the boys tell you what happened to Matt?"

"I know about Matt," he declared and she gave a little nod, looking down at her feet. "You think this is on you."

"This is on _me_ ," she looked up at him. "Zachariah got to him because of me, Cas. I thought the angels were done with all these torturing…." She brought her hand up to rub her forehead. "When they took me upstairs after what happened at Chuck's, they told me that it was over. They told me they weren't gonna use torture anymore. They told me they knew Zachariah did wrong. Yet, now they let him torture Matt? I-I don't get it."

"Zachariah's mission is to insure the fight between Lucifer and Michael to happen. And, he wants to win the fight against Lucifer, Kate," he explained to her. "He would do anything for that, which is why he did all he could to convince Heaven that turning you into the Weapon is the best solution. He succeeded on convincing them that he knew you well enough to have the power to make you say 'yes'. And, it turns out that he was right." Kate looked away, still a bit embarrassed about what she had been ready to do a month ago. "But, not anymore," he added, making her look up at him, her brown eyes meeting his blue eyes.

"Not anymore," she confirmed. "Like Dean said, we don't have the luxury to give up. We have to keep fighting, all together. And that's how we're gonna fix everything." Castiel considered her words for a couple of second.

"Dean can be wise sometimes," he commented in his deep voice, causing Kate to let out a light chuckle.

"Yeah, it happens to him," she agreed, her eyes travelling over the angel's face. "Speaking about Dean, why didn't you pop in there to startle him instead of popping here?"

"I wasn't able to get inside," he briefly explained.

"Oh, right, the sigils," she said as she immediately remembered that some of the sigils that the Winchesters had put all over the house to prevent Kate from trying to summon the angels when she wanted to carry out her plan, were still decorating the walls. "Just give me two minutes," she told him, leaping off the edge of the Impala's trunk to make her way up to the house.

After a few steps, she stopped in track, spun around and quickly went back to the trench-coated angel who simply stared at her. With no time, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and slightly squeezed him, which confused him utterly.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, standing still.

"Giving you a hug after not seeing you for so long, and… Slowly regretting doing so since how awkward it is for you to not hug me back," she replied, stepping back. She looked up at the angel who looked at her passively. "Alright. We'll really need to work on your social skills one day."

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

After Castiel followed Crowley to the house full of protections against angels, he immediately gave the address for the Winchester brothers to take over. The place where the crossroads demon lived was big and it was guarded by a good number of demons, so Sam and Dean knew they would need some backup. Kate was ready to become that backup, but the circumstances made it different. Indeed, Ellen and Jo, the two hunters that Kate had met back at River Pass, had called Bobby right when the old man was trying to find what other hunter he could get to help the Winchesters get into the demon's house. Mother and daughter immediately offered their help, and Bobby had no other choice but to accept. Sam and Dean ended up having to drive to a meeting point with the two women while Kate, Bobby and Castiel stayed back in the old hunter's house. The angel would have preferred to go along to the demon's place, but he knew that he wouldn't be that much of a help with all the protections against his kind. Castiel staying with Kate and Bobby wasn't that bad, though. The angel managed to get the old man to admit that he had regrets about forbidding Matt to ever come back into his house. These regrets were even bigger when Castiel explained to Bobby that it was Matt who had actually found the location where this crossroads demon did most of his deals and then the young hunter had given that information to Rufus. When Bobby called Rufus, his old friend and partner in crime confirmed the angel's words and he also explained that ever since Matt got kicked out by Bobby, he had done all he could to redeem himself.

As the hours passed by, Bobby, Castiel and Kate all waited impatiently in the living room for one of the four hunters to call them and say that their mission to get the Colt had gone perfectly well. But, it wasn't until around 11pm that Dean finally called to announce the good news. No one was harmed and they had the Colt. The relief had washed over the three of them and about half-an-hour later, Bobby decided to go to sleep in his little bedroom. The four hunters wouldn't get back before at least three in the morning, but Kate wanted to wait for them, so she stayed with Castiel in the living room. Nevertheless, the angel decided to check something all of sudden so he disappeared and left her to wait on her own for the return of the hunters. The young woman had tried to keep herself awake by surfing the channels and reading, but soon enough she fell asleep on the couch.

When Sam, Dean, Ellen and Jo came back, they parked their cars in front of the dark and quiet house. Quiet as mice, Sam and Ellen were the first ones to walk into Bobby's house. They assumed that Bobby and Kate were asleep; which turned out to be the case as they both stopped in the living room's doorway.

"Is she asleep?" Ellen inquired in a whisper as she slowly dropped her bag to the floor, looking over at the young brunette. She could nearly not see her if it wasn't for the little lamp switched on and put on the coffee table, where a few books were laying opened.

"I think, yeah," Sam whispered back. "She texted me when we were on the road. She wanted to welcome us back so she tried to stay up."

"Maybe we should bring her to one of the rooms upstairs?" Ellen suggested.

"Yeah, one of the rooms is actually already hers," he informed the woman, before they heard footsteps approaching them from behind. Sam and Ellen both turned around to look at their respective relative.

"Hey. I was telling Jo that you guys could take our rooms," Dean began to say before his green eyes wandered between Sam and Ellen, and he spotted the brunette across of where they were standing. "She's asleep?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded his head while Jo moved her head to get a look at what—or rather _who_ – they were talking about. "I'm gonna carry her upstairs."

"I'll do it," Dean told his brother. "Show them the rooms."

"Okay," Sam simply replied as Dean sneaked between his little brother and the elder woman. The three watched him as he put his bag down, right next to the coffee table, and then bent down. His arms sneaked under the brunette, who stirred, but he murmured something that immediately got her to stop and relax. Once she was in his arms, he turned around and his eyebrows shot as he wondered what they were still doing here. As Sam stepped in the living room, there was enough space for Dean to walk through the doorway with no difficulty. Without a word, Jo followed Dean with her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by her mother, who gave her a gentle tap on the arm.

"Come on, I think we could all use some shut eye tonight," she gave a warm smile at her daughter who nodded at her.

Dean had already opened the door of Kate's bedroom, when Sam led Ellen and Jo to the rooms they could sleep in for the night. Jo couldn't help but throw a glance at Dean as he noiselessly closed the door with the heel of his foot, disappearing with the sleeping brunette behind the door.

The advantage with being a hunter for most of his life was that Dean could see quite well in the dark. He could make out the shape of the bed, and thus walked to there with no trouble. He carefully laid down the young woman who let out a light whimper and fidgeted. He looked at her for a moment, afraid that he might have woken her up. But, when he realized that she was still fast asleep, he grabbed the folded blanket at the end of the bed and unfolded it before gently covering her with it, from her shoulders to her bare feet. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her feet sneak out of the blanket. He glanced up at her sleeping face, its softness warming his heart after such an intense and stressful night. He took a step back ready to leave when she started to fidget, causing him to frown. But, it was the way her face was scrunched up as she whimpered that worried him. Right when he approached her, the whimpers that escaped her mouth got louder before Dean quickly woke her up by shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey," he whispered to her when she jerked awake in a sitting position, her eyes looking everywhere as though still stuck in her nightmare. "It's okay. It's okay, I've got you."

"Dean?" She breathed out, confused.

"Yeah, it's me," he told her, sitting down on the edge of the bed. With one hand holding on her shoulder, he reached out to switch on the bedside lamp. He looked at her to see her squint her eyes before she looked around and realized they were in her room. "We found you asleep on the couch, so I carried you to your bed," he answered her unasked question, his eyes scanning her face. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It was just… A stupid nightmare," she replied, putting her face in her hands to rub it while he gently caressed and squeezed her shoulder with his hand. "So, you finally got it; the Colt."

"Was your nightmare about the Colt?" He inquired, his brow furrowed.

"No," she shook her head. "I don't really wanna talk about it."

Dean didn't insist, he slowly pulled his hands away and got up as he said, "Alright, I'll leave you alone, then."

The brunette quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him in track.

"Please, don't," she nearly begged him in a whisper. Dean looked at her, his green eyes finding fear in her brown eyes. "Just… Stay."

The words she had said when he was traveling down her memory lane and they had watched the terrible moment of her father's death, echoed in the back of his mind.

" _You know what happened right then? That's when I realized how really alone I was going to be then."_

Then, he glanced down at her hand around his wrist as other words echoed. These words were the ones she had told him after the time he and Sam got stuck at TV land by the archangel Gabriel.

" _I don't wanna be alone… Everytime you go and leave me by myself, I… I feel so lonely and I… I know it sounds childish and silly, and maybe a little cheesy too, but when I'm with you I feel safe… And the truth is that I'm just not strong enough to be on my own… I'm not strong, Dean."_

Slowly, Dean brought his free hand and rested it on hers. She glanced at his hand before returning her eyes up to his face. She was a bit confused, but she let go of him as his eyes told her not to worry about him going anywhere. She watched him as he took off his military jacket and his flannel, leaving him in only a black t-shirt. He then put the clothes on the wardrobe, just a couple of feet away from the bed.

None of them said a word.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and started to put off his shoes while Kate's eyes remained on him. Their minds were clear off any thoughts and questions. Although they had spent a whole night stargazing a few weeks ago, and they had also spent a few other nights in Bobby's living room, researching with the old hunter and Sam, it had been a long while since they shared a bed. But, still their minds were clear off any questioning. She knew that he could bring her the comfort that she needed and he knew that she could bring him the peace that he needed.

Once his shoes and socks were off, Dean turned to look at the brunette. They looked into each other's eyes, and he could see that most of the fear was already gone. Without a word, Kate pulled the blanket off and scooted over. Dean looked down at the space she gave him, and even though he realized there wouldn't be any space between their bodies since it was a single bed, he didn't say anything. He looked at her as she stayed sitting up, and in a couple of movements he positioned himself in the same position than hers. He saw her biting on her bottom lip as she started to slid into a laying position and when he did to, he naturally put his left arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his chest. The brunette went along as she positioned herself on the side and scooted closer to his body. She rested her head on his strong chest, the fingers of one of her hands curling around the fabric of his black t-shirt.

With his head on the pillow, Dean looked up at the ceiling before he switched off the light with his right hand. He felt her denim-clad legs get closer to his own, and he immediately tightened his grip around her shoulders, silently telling her that she had nothing to fear, that he was there to keep her safe. And, it worked. The feelings that her nightmare gave her were soon replaced by the feelings of comfort and safety that Dean gave her. As for him, he was filled with even more comfort, serenity and peace than he had been during this past, calm month. To hold her like this in his arms brought him a feeling that he couldn't even explain, but that he cherished more than he could ever admit.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

While Bobby and Ellen had gone downtown to take care of some business, and the Winchester brothers had gone to Bobby's weapons cabin that was in the middle of the salvage yard, Kate had made her way to the kitchen where dirty dishes waited to be washed. She pushed her sleeves up and turned on the hot water of the faucet, ready to clean the dishes after Ellen cooked them all some delicious mac and cheese. The young brunette went to grab the first plate, but a hand grabbed it before her. She turned her face to see that it was Jo. The thing was that Kate never had the chance to have a real, normal conversation with the young woman. They had met back at River Pass, but they hadn't exchanged more than a few words with each other that day. The terrible events had made it quite complicated for the two young women to try to get to know each other back then. Today wasn't that different, and Kate was aware that it was all due to a little misunderstanding. Indeed, right when Jo walked out of the room she had slept in, Kate and Dean walked out of the brunette's room. While Dean gave a cheerful good morning to the young blonde, she just muttered one before disappearing in the bathroom for a long hour. Although Dean was oblivious for the behavior of the pretty blonde, Kate wasn't. She couldn't even pretend to be oblivious since the blonde spent most of the morning staring at her. The thing was that Jo didn't glare at Kate at all. Not once. She just stared at her. Kate caught her watching Dean a few times, too, and that was then that she remembered what she had read about Jo Harvelle and her infatuation for the elder Winchester.

"You washed the breakfast dishes, it's my turn," Jo said, her brown eyes focused on the plate she was now washing under the hot water.

"You don't have to," Kate began before getting cut off.

"It's alright," Jo shrugged. "I wash, you wipe," she handed the already rinsed plate to Kate.

"Alright," Kate nodded, taking the plate and reaching for the clean towel. "Team work. I like that." Jo turned her head to look at the brunette who immediately gave her a little smile, but the blonde didn't smile back as she just returned her attention to washing the dishes. Kate bit on her bottom lip, frustrated that she wasn't able to build any kind of friendship with the young blonde. It shouldn't be that hard. There wasn't any huge age gap between them, and Kate was usually good at getting along with women who were a bit younger than she was. Tentatively, Kate said, "So, speaking about team work, it's good that, um, your mother and you are here to help."

"I suppose," Jo simply replied, handing another plate to Kate who put down on the counter the one she was still wiping so she could take the one in Jo's hand. "You've been working with Sam and Dean for a while, huh?"

"Yeah," Kate nodded, her face lit up as she realized that the young woman was going to make some efforts as well. She chuckled, "Well, I wouldn't really call it 'working' but yeah."

"And, with Matt, too?" Jo inquired, her eyes focused on the dishes and thus missing the way Kate's face slightly dropped.

"Um, yeah," Kate replied, her voice losing all its enthusiasm, which didn't go unnoticed by the thin blonde who was dressed just like Kate in a red flannel and a pair of jeans. There was a mix of curiosity and concern all over the creamy face of the blonde. "And, what about you?" Kate quickly changed the topic.

"Me?" Jo nearly scoffed, turning her attention back to the plate she had in hands. "I only got the right to hunt if my mother is with me. She doesn't want me to hunt on my own or to team up with anyone else."

"Well, that's not a bad thing," Kate remarked, causing Jo to look at her. "I mean, you can look after each other. Besides, you gotta agree that it's good to have such an amazing cook with you."

"Am I wrong or you've got an amazing relationship with your mother?" The blonde accused with a little smile as she handed her a rinsed plate.

"Well, um, you're actually wrong," The brunette replied, nervously chuckling as she took the plate. She cleared her throat, her brown eyes focused on the plate and then she said, "My mother and I, we never really succeeded on getting along. 90% of the time we were arguing with each other and the 10% left we were just ignoring each other. The thing is that she used to travel a lot for work when I was a teen and even before that; which wasn't that bad actually. It gave me the chance to sleep at my father's place or even at my cousin's. But still, I think that it didn't give us the time we needed to work on our relationship."

Jo watched Kate with full attention. She could hear the regrets in Kate's voice, and her eyes had noticed the way the brown-head kept wiping on the dried plate.

"Did you have the chance to make peace with her before she… Passed away?" Jo asked, hesitantly.

"Oh no, she's not dead!" Kate hurriedly told her.

"Oh, I thought… Since you were using the past tense…." Jo trailed off, puzzlement written over her face.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, um, it's just that I… I haven't seen her in a while," Kate briefly explained, not knowing what else to say. Plus, Bobby had made her understand that Ellen and Jo didn't know about her 'situation'.

"Then, in that case, shouldn't you try to get in touch with her?" Jo suggested, causing a questioning expression to appear on the brunette's face. Jo shut the tap and turned to face properly the brunette. "Look, we're gonna face the Devil tomorrow. I may be blonde but I'm not stupid, I know what that means. The chances for us to come out of this mission alive are extremely thin. And, I know, I sounded like I wished I could be a hunter on my own, without my mother watching my every moves, but the truth is that it's in days like today that I realize how grateful I am to have my mother by my side. Trust me, we spent years fighting about the most meaningless things. Heck, I even spent years hating her for stupid things!" She gave a little chuckle of reminiscence before she licked her lips and continued in a much softer voice. "But, she's my mother and she will always be my mother. If there is anyone I want to be by my side until the end of my life, it's her. I know I will never be able to find the words to tell her how much I love her, but I hope she sees that through what I do. And, fighting by her sides tomorrow, it's my way of telling her that I would go until the end with her."

Jo slowly appeared even younger for the brunette, now. The vulnerability of her voice and the sincerity of her words as she showed how much she truly loved and needed her mother, deeply touched Kate. She would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't envy the relationship between Ellen and Jo. She had admired and envied their relationship ever since she read their first appearance on the 'Supernatural' books. Witnessing the desperation of Ellen to save her daughter back at River Pass, had also played a huge role in Kate's shameful envy to this kind of mother-daughter relationship. Truth be told, she had always hoped for her relationship with her mother to change. Even though her mother had always been quite swallow and not really supportive of her, Kate had always believed that one day she would change. Kate had never stopped believing that one day her mother and she would share a better relationship. But, things had always made it impossible for them to work on their relationship. Her mother was a career-dedicated woman and she had spent most of Kate's teenage years away from their house, in work trips. Although Kate had enjoyed these moments because it would give her the possibility to spend more days at her father's place, she was still quite bothered by the fact that her mother never failed to show how much of a burden her daughter was. But, Kate had remained a faithful believer that one day her mother would change her way of seeing things, that their relationship would get better.

"So, maybe, you should call her, and tell her that you're sorry," Jo continued, pulling Kate out of her thoughts. "Because, that's pretty obvious that you _are_ sorry."

"I am," Kate confirmed in almost a whisper before looking down at the plate between her hands. She added it on top of the other wiped plates, and with her eyes focused on the plates, she continued, "But, I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Jo inquired and Kate turned her head to look at her. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment when a noise caused them to whip their heads at the living room direction.

Standing in the living room was Castiel in his usual trench-coat over a suit, and right next to him was Matt. The dark-haired hunter looked much healthier than he had looked the last time Kate saw him. But, for Jo, he looked different. The young blonde hadn't seen the hunter for about a few months and the last time she saw him he hadn't lost any weight nor sleep yet; he hadn't gone through Zachariah's tortures yet at that time. Jo was quite alarmed to see him looking a bit thinner than usual, but when she glanced at Kate, she was confused at the expression of relief and what looked like happiness that covered her face.

"I told you not to bring – " Matt started, with a finger pointed at the angel, before the angle moved his blue gaze to the brunette standing in the kitchen with the blonde. Matt turned his head and froze when his silver grey eyes met Kate's chocolate brown eyes.

* * *

 _ **A moment later.**_

Kate and Matt were sitting on a ripped-off car's backseat that Kate had settled a few feet away from Bobby's house's backdoor a few weeks ago. They had cleaned the area and had made it a better-looking backyard with that seemingly bench, a couple of old, plastic chairs, and a round table. Kate had even succeeded on making the Winchesters and Bobby have lunch at that table on one sunny day a couple of weeks ago. Of course, the numerous piles of demolished cars weren't the most beautiful landscape to stare at while having lunch, but Kate found some unexplainable peace in that landscape. Besides, she knew that Sam and Dean felt the same way. The brunette was quite certain that it was all due for the time they spent in that place. Surely, the Winchesters had spent much more time around that place than she had, but it didn't lessen the fact that this place made them all feel safe and at ease. The truth was that as much as this place was the closest place to what Sam and Dean could call a home with four walls and a roof, it also had become Kate's home over the past months. No matter how much time she had spent on the road with the Winchester brothers or with any other hunter, she always found herself going back to this old man's house. She always found herself going back to the place where she first arrived; the place where it all started.

"So, I guess you're the one who decided not to let Ellen and Jo know about what happened," Matt said, pulling Kate away of her thoughts.

"Actually, it was an unspoken rule among all of us," She replied, squinting her eyes at the sun as she looked at her friend's profile.

"Democracy at its best," he commented, his grey eyes glued to the piles of cars, and she couldn't help the light chuckle that left her throat. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say, considering what it is that you actually all kept for yourselves, but, um... Thank you," he turned his head so that he could look her in the eyes.

"You don't have to thank me or anyone for that," she softly reassured him. He looked away, still not completely able to look in the eyes of the woman he almost got killed by acting so selfishly. "I'm just so glad that Bobby changed his mind."

"I'm glad, too. I don't think he forgave me though," he admitted in a little voice. The thing was that even though Bobby called him and told him that he understood his motives of last time, he hadn't told him that he was completely forgiven. And, when Bobby asked Castiel to bring Matt back to his place, the grey-eyed hunter had instantly realized that the old man was still not entirely trusting him – or at least, not like he used to – but that he still wanted to give him a chance.

"I don't think Bobby is the kind of man to say it out loud when he forgives someone for a reason or another," Kate explained her opinion. "But, you're here. And, I'm pretty sure Bobby would have never broken his word to keep you out of his house if he had doubts on whether he should trust you or not." Matt looked down at his linked hands, hanging in between his legs wide apart. Her eyes traveled down to his hands and then back to his profile, and she couldn't help the tiny smile that appeared on her lips as she, for the umpteenth time, that his cheekbones weren't as visible as they were the last time she saw him. He had gained back some weight and some colors to his face, and it brought a great amount of relief in her. "Anyways, you have no idea how good it is to see you again. And especially in such a better shape than last time."

"Yeah, you should thank your creepy angel friend for that. I gotta say, I thought it was you who sent him but -"

"Wait, what do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"Castiel; he came everyday to check on me. From the day following my departure from here to like five days ago, he came to check on me in one of Rufus' cabins every single day," he explained to her before looking at her to see that expression of hers which told him to keep on talking. "I... When I left that place, I immediately went to drink myself to oblivion. And I did until the next day, I found the trench-coat angel standing right next to my car. I thought he was gonna kick my ass for what I did to you, but no... he brought me to one of Rufus' cabins and he looked after me for two _whole_ days," he lightly shook his head at the memory of these days with the angel glued on him like a piece of gum. "Then, he left and he came back the next morning with food for the whole day. And, then every single morning, he came with different kind of food, stayed with me for an hour or so, and left me for the day so he could go on... on his search for God," he paused, looking as though considering what he just said and Kate realized that it must have been because she hadn't told him about God missing before he found out about that by himself, undoubtedly with the help of Castiel's lack of confidentiality.

"How did he find you?" Kate inquired, since Matt also had his ribs craved with Enochian protections.

"Dean described him my car and gave him my license plate, too."

" _Dean_?"

"What, you didn't know?" Matt looked at her with raised surprised to see that she really had no idea about what he was telling her. "He's the one who called Castiel the day after I left... The guy breaks my nose and the next day asks his angel pal to look after me. Trust me, I was as confused as you are."

Thoughtful, Kate bit on her bottom lip and looked down at Matt's hands; her eyes immediately spotting that he was no longer biting his nails down to the quick. A soft smile formed on her lips at the thought of Dean being the reason for Matt feeling better. The night she and the elder Winchester spent stargazing, she hadn't omitted admitting her deep worry for Matt. But, considering that Dean never showed any appreciation or liking to the young hunter, and also considering the fact that she had been quite brief when admitting that she was worried, Kate would have never imagined Dean to call Castiel the next day and ask him to look after Matt. The green-eyed man was always so full of surprises, but this one was by far one of the best for the brunette.

"He's not that bad, you know?" Matt continued, making her eyebrows shoot up on her forehead as she put back her whole focus to her friend. "For an angel, I mean. He's not that bad, but he's still a bit of a creepy, weird angel, especially when he stands in the middle of the room without saying a word for two long hours."

"Yeah, he does that," she chuckled at the thought of Castiel in the middle of a room while doing nothing but observation of every single object composing the room. "But, he's got interesting things to say when you begin a conversation with him. He's been around here for quite a long time, you know?"

"That's actually what I found out about two weeks ago," he told her with a nod. "And, I realized that having somebody who's been around since the creation of Humanity could actually be quite useful."

"What do you mean?" She inquired, her brow furrowed as she looked at him.

"Remember that time you asked me to do some research about what happened in 1983?" He said and she nodded as a cue for him to keep going. "Well, I asked Castiel what he knew about that night in October. And, you're not gonna believe what he told me."

"What? What did he tell you?" She urged him.

He turned his body a little bit so that he could face her, and with his eyes looking straight into hers, he said, "Only four angels know what happened that night. Apparently, it's an unofficial rule for Heaven to destroy every trace or memory of any huge event that involves the Guardians. But, according to Castiel, four angels among the most trusted ones are chosen to remember these events."

"Why?"

"I guess they don't trust manuscript records or any other kind of manuscripts for that matter," he lightly shrugged.

"No, I mean, why would they need to erase the traces of the Guardians apparitions?"

"Just think about it; it's the proof that God needed some kind of help to keep an eye on his creations."

"Yeah, but the Guardians are His creation, too," she replied. "They were made by Him when He was busy creating the Light to defeat the Darkness if it ever escaped the place it got locked away to."

"Still, they've been considered as gods by some peoples," he told her, watching her as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and a deep expression appeared on her face. "Anyways, that's not what's important." She lifted her brown eyes to look at him. "Castiel told me that the moment you landed in this universe, Zachariah researched about you and it led him to find out that you were linked to an incident with a Guardian in 1983. Castiel told me that Zachariah tortured one of these four angels to get the information out of them."

"That's how he knew…" She whispered thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Zachariah," she began before clearing her throat. "He told me that he knew the Cleaner had some resentment against me. He told me that it all happened in 1983. Actually, he told me that it all _started_ at this moment."

"What started?"

"I don't know," she lightly shook her head. "But, if he said right… If something really happened back in 1983, then it wasn't with me. It was with Sam and Dean's mother. I mean, you showed me those files from the Lawrence Memorial Hospital and obviously she was there. Not me. You said that you think she's the one who made the Cleaner wake all these fifteen people or so who were in a coma."

"Yeah, I know I did," he nodded. "The hospital's records of that night of 1983 proved that she received some medical attention, and it wasn't the ordinary kind of medical attention. No doubt, she went into a physical fight that night."

"But, what does it have to do with me?" Kate frowned. "If Mary Winchester fought against the Cleaner that night, then why does he have something against me? Why did he say that _I_ took something from him?"

"I have no idea," he sighed. "All I know is that what happened that night was huge. Otherwise, Castiel would know about it." Kate watched him as he brought his hand up to rub and pinch his lips out of frustration to not know more.

It was then that Kate remembered the exact words that Zachariah once told her.

" _You have no idea what the future holds for you. It's magnificent and dreadful. You will have to make choices that will tear you apart, you will lose people dear to your heart, and you will play the role I want you to play. And it all started in 1983."_

"Zachariah didn't just tell me that he knew something happened in 1983," Kate nearly whispered after a short silence had settled between the two of them.

"What do you mean? What else did he tell you?"

"He told me that I will have to make terrible choices and that," she paused and swallowed before looking up to meet his eyes looking at her with full attention. "That I will lose people I love… What if he's right? What if it's really gonna happen?"

* * *

After rummaging in Bobby's weapon cabin in search of a couple or rifles to add in their trunk, Sam and Dean were walking towards the house's frontdoor; the elder laughing and the younger grumbling. During their visit of the cabin, Dean had found a pile of old magazines and the cover of the magazine on top was the one of a movie that released a few years ago. It wasn't any movie; it was the adaptation of Stephen King's _It_. So, of course Dean saw in it the opportunity to make a bad joke on his little brother. He showed Sam the image of the awful clown, causing him to slightly jump and bang the top of his head on a shelf. Unfortunately for Sam, old can of paints were on top of it, and one fell on Sam's left shoulder, painting the entire left sleeve of his blue flannel in green. Since that moment, Dean didn't stop laugh at his little brother who kept shaking his painted arm and hand.

"Dean, I swear if you keep laughing at me, I'm gonna rub my sleeve over your face," Sam threatened his brother who snorted.

"Alright, alright. Sorry," Dean told him, still grinning though. "But, seriously, dude. I thought your problem with clowns was over."

"I don't have a problem with clowns," Sam muttered, causing Dean to shake his head as they both passed by the Impala and went for the flight of stairs.

"You know if you're like that because of a clown on a magazine, maybe you should skip it tomorrow, I mean – "

"Dean, no," Sam sighed as he opened the screen door and put his hand on the front-door's handle. "We've already talked about that."

"I'm just saying – "

"I said, no. I'm coming along tomorrow," Sam told him before pushing the front door open and walking in, followed by his brother who was biting on his lower lip as he realized that he could really not get Sam to listen to him. "Alright, I'm gonna change, now," Sam said, turning to look at his brother who smirked at him, and then he went upstairs while Dean made his way to the living room where he expected to find Kate and Jo.

But, he was surprised to find Castiel standing in the middle of the room, one of Kate's notebooks in his hands.

"Cas? Dude, where've you been to last night?" Dean asked the angel who immediately looked up; his piercing blue eyes meeting the green orbs of the hunter. "I thought we made it clear that these days, we need you with us."

"I had to do a couple of things before bringing Matt here," Castiel replied and Dean's eyes turned slightly round.

"You brought _Matt_ here?" Dean took a couple of steps towards the angel.

"Bobby asked me to," Castiel simply answered before returning his attention to the notebook. "Kate has a very beautiful handwriting. Have you noticed the way she curls the loops of some of her letters?"

"Cas, leave her handwriting for another day and tell me where is Matt?" Dean said, taking the notebook away from the angel's hands and tossing it on top of the coffee table.

"Are you angry, Dean?" Castiel squinted his eyes at the hunter.

"I'm not angry. I-I just… I don't trust him alone with her, okay?" Dean stammered, frustration evident in his voice.

"Your feelings are unjustified," the angel told him. "Matt is full of sincere remorse for what he did to her. He will never do the same mistake again. You can trust him."

Dean studied the angel's face for a moment before looking away. He sighed, rubbing one hand over his mouth and then his jaw as he took a couple of steps back and leaned against the edge of Bobby's desk. The memory of what could have happened with Kate the previous month had suddenly resurfaced at the mention of Matt's presence in the house. The truth was that with time, the thought of losing this young woman who had been in their lives for nearly a whole year, had become unbearable. There were times when he was terrified by how much he cared for her life – how much he cared for _her_. Ever since he was a kid, there were things that were certain for him; specific things. These specific things were simple, but the certainty of them gave him something solid that he grew up holding onto. Whether it was the certainty that monsters were real, that his father was a hero, or that he still had his brother by his sides, Dean liked the certainty of these things. It gave him a sense of grip to his messy life. But, the brown-eyed woman from another universe brought him a new certainty that was, paradoxically, unsure. Over the past year, she had turned his life upside down. She had challenged his way of thinking and his way of feeling. She had brought him a softness and peace that he had never known he needed that much. She had become a new certainty that he needed in his life, but the fact that she would inevitably return to her universe one day or another, made this certainty uncertain and unreliable.

"Oh, Dean!" Jo exclaimed as she walked in the living room after her little trip to the bathroom. Pulled out of his thoughts, the hunter looked at the blonde whose nose was a bit crinkled up as she stared at him. "You're okay?"

"Peachy," he half-muttered. She looked over at Castiel with questioning eyes, only to find him staring at Dean with a serious and intensive look.

"Okay," she said awkwardly. "You know, what? I've got some dishes to put away in the cupboards, so, I'm gonna leave you two to whatever I interrupted."

Dean watched her as she went to the kitchen, shaking her blonde head before she stopped in front of the pile of washed and wiped dishes. She started to put some of the dishes in the cupboards like she said she would, and Dean subconsciously kept his green eyes on her. Dean wasn't blind, he had noticed how she had matured since the first time he and Sam met her. She was more focused on the work to do than on the fantasy of the work. She had become aware of the real dangers that filled a hunter's life, but hadn't let any of those dangers stop her. She knew what she wanted to do; not just to make her father proud, but to make a change in their crazy world. When she was told that Sam and Dean were going to face the Devil, she had forestalled her mother by immediately saying that they could count on them to fight alongside of them. She had the possibility to do anything else instead, but no, she was there, ready to help for the most dangerous and crazy fight he and his brother ever imagined of having. Suddenly, it occurred to Dean that Jo was as much of a hunter as he and his brother were. It saddened him to think that such a young person, with a long life filled of better and happier opportunities ahead of them, had chosen the kind of life that was forced upon him and that he, more than once, secretly wished not to have.

Dean found himself leaving his thinking when he saw the young blonde parting one of the kitchen's window's blinds to get a look outside, as though there was something interesting to spy on. He didn't need more than two seconds to put two and two together.

"Dean – " Castiel started, but Dean didn't let him finish as he walked up to the blonde and stood by her left to get a look at what she was stating with such curiosity.

He immediately spotted Kate and Matt, talking as they were sitting on the homemade bench. Since they were giving their backs to the windows, Dean couldn't make out what was being said between them. Jo glanced up at Dean and was almost surprised to see such a deep expression on his face. Her brown eyes scanned the hunter's profile for a couple of seconds before she returned her attention to the duo outside.

"They've been talking for about half an hour," she commented, causing Dean's frown to increase. "Do you know what happened to him?" She turned her face to look at Dean who looked down at her. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Dean glanced at Castiel who was quietly watching him from his spot in the living room.

"He's been through a lot," Dean simply answered, moving his green gaze back to outside.

"What do you mean by 'a lot'?" Jo asked, insisting on somebody to give her some answers to what had made the dark-haired hunter lose weight and win a sad, pale face. Dean remained silent, not knowing what to tell her. "Did something happen when he found the location to that crossroads demon who gave us the Colt?"

"No. It's more complicated, Jo," he told her, before he saw Kate wrap her arms around Matt to hug him. "Much more complicated," he whispered, causing Jo to look up at him. What looked like a hurtful expression was painted on his face, causing her to frown as she glanced back and forth at the duo outside and at Dean.

"What about Kate?" She asked, causing Dean to look at her with questioning eyes. "What's the deal with her?"

"It's complicated," Sam's voice answered, making Dean and Jo turn their heads towards the taller Winchester who was now wearing a simple grey t-shirt.

"Can't you guys give me more than this generic answer?" Jo sighed and Sam gave a light scoff mixed to a chuckle.

"Why don't you help me figure out if Carthage really is the place to go to tomorrow?" Sam suggested to her.

"Alright," she sighed, taking her hands off the window's blinds. She walked to the living room as Dean looked at his little brother who made his way to the fridge while the angel grabbed the brunette's notebook and went to a corner of the living room.

"You knew about that, didn't you?" Dean asked his little brother.

"Knew about what?" Sam frowned, taking a beer out of the fridge and turning around to look at his brother who gave him a hard look. "What?"

"Bobby asked Castiel to bring back Matt," Dean told him, making sure to not speak too loud since the young blonde was sitting on the couch, just a few feet away from them.

"I didn't know," Sam replied truthfully before glancing over at the blonde and then continuing in a lower voice. "Where is he?" Dean didn't say a word as he just reached for the window's blinds and parted them with his fingers for his brother to look outside. "Alright," Sam simply commented as he looked at the duo talking outside.

"Alright?" Dean repeated, causing Sam to look at him.

"Yeah," Sam shrugged at him. "I mean, they're talking, it's good. You should talk to him, too."

"Why should I do that?" Dean frowned, dropping his hand away from the window's blinds. It wasn't because he had made sure that Castiel would help Matt getting better that it meant he wanted to have anything to do with the young man who almost got Kate to sacrifice herself.

"Bobby obviously called him to fight alongside us," Sam whispered to him, but Dean's frown didn't disappear. "Look, I've talked to Bobby this morning and he told me that he could understand what Matt did – I'm not saying we said that Matt was right to do what he did, so let me finish – So, yeah, I've talked to him and he told me that he knew we could count on Matt to help us tomorrow."

"How do you want him to help us? The man's nothing but skin and bones," Dean started, still whispering.

"Not anymore. And that's thanks to you according to Cas," Sam cut him off and Dean looked away. He didn't want anyone to know that he had sent Castiel to look after Matt. "You did good, Dean. Cas told me that Matt wouldn't have made it through if you hadn't made sure that he got some help. Look, I'm pretty sure that he's not completely over what happened to his girlfriend, or what Zachariah did to him, and I'm two hundred percent sure that he still hates himself for what he almost made Kate do. But, it's obvious that he wants to redeem himself really bad. You and me, we both know that feeling. We know how hard it is, so we gotta help him there. We gotta let him come with us and show us that he's still a reliable hunter."

"He's already helped by finding where Crowley was," Dean replied.

"It's not the same thing, Dean, you know that," his brother told him, his puppy dog eyes pleading him to understand. "He needs it."

"Okay," Dean exhaled a long sigh, giving in as he rubbed one hand over his face.

Right at this moment, the backdoor opened and Kate and Matt walked in before stopping in track when the brunette's eyes immediately met Dean's green eyes.

Sam turned around and looked at her and then at Matt, before instantly getting rid of the tension that was starting to form. "Hey, Matt. You look good, man," Sam went towards him, holding his hand out for Matt to shake it.

Matt was taken aback by the way the younger Winchester acted so friendly to him, but he tried not to let it show as he went to shake Sam's hand.

"Thanks," he simply replied as Sam smiled at him.

"Good job on finding Crowley by the way," Sam added and Matt gave a nod before looking over at Dean whose green eyes were focused on the brunette who was watching Sam and Matt's interaction. The taller man looked at his brother and cleared his throat obnoxiously. Dean looked at him with raised eyebrows and when he saw the pointed look of his little brother, he shifted his green eyes to the grey-eyed hunter.

"Yeah, um, like he said, good job," Dean told him. In a couple of seconds, he noticed that Matt looked much better than that time he hit him in the face. Castiel had done a good job at looking after him, and he could only imagine how much relief must have filled Kate to see the dark-haired man in a better health and shape.

"Yeah… I should see if Castiel can send me back to where I was so I can get my stuff here," Matt said, feeling a bit uncomfortable, as he made his way to the living room.

Sam gave a warm smile to Kate before going off to the living room as well. Kate followed him with her eyes before Sam asked Jo to accompany him to the Impala to get some books from the trunk. The younger Winchester and the blond-haired woman left the living room right before the noise of flapping wings echoed, indicating that Castiel had gone with Matt to get his stuff from the cabin. Kate slowly turned her face to look at Dean and their eyes immediately met.

She softly smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For Matt," she answered in almost a whisper, her eyes locked in his.

"You mean, for not breaking his nose this time?"

"Well, that. And, for giving him the help he needed this past month," she clarified.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't a big deal," he looked away, trailing off since he didn't know what to say.

She crossed the space separating them, which caused him to shift his gaze back to her. When his green orbs went back to look into her sparkling brown eyes, he felt his heart skip a beat at her closeness. "It is a big deal, Dean. You… You saved him from himself."

"I didn't do anything. Cas was there for him," he whispered, his eyes hypnotized by hers.

"You're the one who got Cas to do it," she replied in a soft voice. "I didn't even think about doing that. No matter what resentment you had against Matt, you put it aside and helped him. So…" She slid her arms around his back and he let her do as she hugged him, resting her head against his chest. "So, thank you… Thank you, Dean."

"I told you I wasn't gonna let you lose anyone," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her back.

Kate slightly tensed as Dean's words triggered Zachariah's words to reappear in the back of her mind.

 _You will have to make choices that will tear you apart, you will lose people dear to your heart…_

 _You will lose people dear to your heart…_

Dean felt Kate tightened her grip around him, slightly confusing him before he did the same as he tightened his own grip. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe in the comfort that her hugs usually brought him, but he didn't succeed. She was radiating so much sadness this time that it was all he could feel. He rubbed his hand on her back, trying to help her get rid of that feeling.

"It's alright," he gently whispered. "It's alright, I've got you, Kaitlin. I've got you."

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

It had been about an hour, right after having some take-out pizzas for dinner, that the night had turned into a pretty joyful night. Jo had been the reason for everyone to decide on celebrating this night to ease the anticipation of their big and rather suicidal next day to Carthage. The pretty blonde had put on some background music and she had then given everyone a fresh beer before putting bottles of whisky, scotch and vodka along with shots on the coffee table and on the kitchen table. She wanted everyone to have a nice, relaxing night to take off the tension of the next day, and she had successfully cheered everyone giving in. Nevertheless, when Sam and Dean saw the game of shots that Ellen and Jo were explaining to the angel in the kitchen, they both decided to join Bobby in the living room. Bobby ended up wheeling himself from the living room to his little room, busy doing his own stuff, while Sam and Dean sat at opposite sides of his messy, wooden desk. As for Kate and Matt, they preferred the calm of the outside as after dinner they went back into sitting on the ripped-off car's backseat in the backyard. But, it wasn't long before they decided that to join the hunters and the angel for the night.

As Kate pushed the backdoor open, she and Matt walked in and they both frowned at what they immediately spotted. Sitting at the kitchen's table were Ellen, Jo and Castiel, and on the table there was something that Kate would have never imagined seeing Castiel around. Sure, Dean had told her that he brought Castiel to a brothel with drinks once, but it was different to see the angels with drinks in front of him than imagining him. While Matt closed the door, Kate approached the table and Jo grinned up at her.

"You came at the right moment," the blonde told the brunette before taking a sip of her beer. Kate looked over at the five full shot glasses settled in a row right in front of Castiel while Ellen took shots from the row in front of her and gulped down one shot after another before putting the empty shots upside-down.

"All right, big boy," Ellen nodded at the angel.

"You're not gonna…" Kate trailed off, staring at Castiel who kept his serious gaze glued on the drinks.

"Well," Castiel declared in his deep voice before he grabbed one shot and quickly started draining all the five shots in a row while they all stared at him. The blue-eyed angel slightly frowned and then he said, "I think I'm starting to feel something."

Jo gawked at him while Kate let out a breathy sound of surprise. She turned her head to look at Matt who was standing next to her with a surprised expression on his face.

"He did it," the dark-haired hunter commented making the young brunette chuckle.

"Gotta say, I can't help wonder if that'll make me end up in Hell," Ellen said thoughtfully, making her daughter laugh.

"You're not going to Hell for giving an angel a good time," Jo patted her mother's arm. She turned to look at the angel. "You'll take my mother's defense if she risks Hell for this, right?"

"It doesn't work like that," Castiel replied in a grave voice, causing Kate to shake her head before she saw Matt walking away and that drifted her attention away from the weird story the angel was telling them.

The young brunette watched the dark-haired hunter as he made passed in the living room, the Winchester brothers also following him with their eyes, before Dean moved his gaze to Kate. She didn't notice the green eyes on her as she took the same path than her grey-eyed friend, only to go down the hallway of the first floor while Matt went upstairs. Sam observed his brother's face until Kate was out of sight, and he was slightly amused to see that Dean still didn't look away from the doorway that gave a view to the hallway. The rather deep expression on Dean's face got Sam to wonder what thoughts were running through his mind. He had noticed the way Dean kept throwing glances at Matt and Kate the whole afternoon, and he was pretty sure that everyone else had noticed as well. Even though Dean believed he was discreet, he wasn't. The only person oblivious to his constant glancing and staring was, of course, the concerned person; Kate. It was as though Dean knew when she would look up from whatever she was doing, so he ended up never getting caught. It used to amuse Sam, but this afternoon it didn't. Sam couldn't help but feel sorry for his brother because whenever the curly-haired woman had an interaction with the dark-haired hunter, some very unordinary expression appeared on Dean's face. Sam couldn't really point out at this expression since it was gone as fast as it appeared, but there was something distinguishable in this expression. Something that confused Sam as it was very unusual for him to see it on his brother's face when a woman other than their mother was involved. Something that saddened Sam as it was something that he never wished to see on his brother's face. Hurt.

"You know, Matt went upstairs while she went down the hallway," Sam told him, hoping that it would reassure whatever thought Dean was having.

"Yeah, well good for them," Dean commented, his voice slightly bitter before he took his beer and took a long sip of it.

"Dean – "

"What were you saying about Carthage again?" Dean interrupted him. His little brother's tone was enough for him to guess what kind of conversation he was going to start with him, and Dean simply didn't want to go down that subject of Kate and Matt.

Out of slight frustration, Sam pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and resigned himself to continue what they were talking about before Matt and Kate distracted them. "Nothing, I just… What Crowley told us, it's gotta be a trap, right?"

"Sam Winchester, having trust issues with a demon. Well, better late than never," Dean sarcastically remarked, earning a slight eye roll from his little brother.

"Thank you again for your continued support," Sam replied as sarcastically as his brother.

"You're welcome," Dean clinked his bottle with his brother's and then they both took a swig of their beer at the same time. "You know, trap or no trap, we got a snowball's chance, we gotta take it, right?" The elder Winchester said, putting his beer down on the desk.

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Besides, I'm not sure it's a trap. Check it out. I mean, Carthage is lit up like a Christmas tree with Revelation omens. And look at what Jo and Kaitlin dug up earlier," Dean said, pushing some papers at his brother. "There's been six missing persons reported, in town, since Sunday. I think the Devil's there."

"Okay," Sam nodded.

"Look, when you think about it...you can't come with," Dean told him in a serious tone, which caused Sam to roll his eyes. It hadn't been the first time that his brother told him this. In fact, Dean had been trying all day to prevent his brother from coming along.

"Dean," Sam began.

"Look, I go against Satan and screw the pooch, okay. We've lost a game piece. That we can take. But if you're there, then we are handing the devil's vessel right over to him. That's not smart."

"Since when have we ever done anything smart?"

"I'm serious, Sam."

"So am I. Haven't we learned a damn thing? If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it together," Sam said to his brother. "You said it yourself this morning. And, you can't tell me you didn't mean it. You can't tell me this."

"It's not that I didn't mean it, Sam," Dean sighed, putting his beer down and rubbing his jaw before continuing. "It's just… It's different, okay?"

"Different how?"

"C'mon, Sam. You know, I can't bring you there and risk –"

"I won't let Lucifer take me, Dean. I won't. And, you should know that."

"Yeah, still," Dean looked away, remembering what Kate had told him once about how he would do absolutely anything to save his brother.

" _Now look at me and tell me you'll never do what Matt did. Tell me you'd never risk the lives of billions of innocents to save Sam."_

"Dean, we have to do this together. We have to," Sam replied, looking straight into his brother's eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment. Dean looked away, letting a short sigh of giving in; he had no chance to stand against his brother's stubbornness that could challenge Kate's.

"Okay. But it's a stupid frigging idea," he told his little brother before his eyes were drawn to a movement in the hallway while Sam turned around to look at the mother and daughter playing drinking games with the angel at the kitchen table.

"Boy, talk about stupid ideas," Sam commented, an amused smile on his lips.

"Yeah, stupid ideas," Dean murmured, causing his little brother to look at him. When the younger man followed his brother's gaze to the doorway displaying the hallway, he saw Kate making her way to the staircase.

When Sam returned his hazel gaze to his brother's face, he was met by the same hurtful expression that he didn't like seeing on his freckled face. He didn't want to see it anymore, and he knew that the only to stop seeing it was to make Dean open his eyes on the obvious. As much as Kate appeared close to Matt, it was obviously not the same kind of closeness that she shared with Dean. Plus, with time, Sam had noticed that Kate offered a soothing gentleness to Dean that was very different from the one she offered to everyone else. He found it interesting and amusing, but it was different now that they were a few hours away from facing the Devil. Things were much more different when chances to survive the next day were as thin as they were now.

"Can I be blunt with you, Dean?" Sam asked when Ellen's laugh drawn Dean's attention to the trio at the kitchen's table. His green eyes immediately spotted the pretty blonde standing up and going over the fridge, and one realization hit him. She could keep his mind off the unexplainable aching feeling growing inside of him at the thought of Kate joining Matt upstairs.

"You know what? Right now ain't really the right time," Dean told him as he stood up and Sam followed his gaze to see that his elder brother was staring at the blonde bent in front of the fridge as she rummaged inside of it.

"Dean, no," Sam instantly said as he recognized the look in his brother's eyes. "Right now _is_ the right time. Really. Before you do something stupid."

"Sammy, this night is all about doing stupid things," Dean smirked at him before going off and leaving his little brother to damn him under his breath.

As Dean walked towards the blonde who was rummaging in the fridge, he couldn't help but compare Jo's bottom to Kate's. The brunette was curvier than the blonde, and the brunette also had longer legs than the blonde, which Dean noticed especially when Kate wore skirts. He couldn't help but wonder if Matt was seeing this pair of legs right now, upstairs.

When Jo turned around, she was slightly startled to find Dean standing just a foot away from her.

"Hey," She greeted, frowning at the curious proximity that he had put between them while he had kept a good distance with her these past couple of days.

"Hey," he said back before finding himself mentally comparing her brown eyes to Kate's. The brunette's brown eyes were brighter, and depending on the lightning a glimpse of gold color could be seen. Besides, there was a kindness, delicateness and compassion in Kate's eyes that he never saw in any other women's eyes before. He couldn't help but wonder if Matt was causing Kate's eyes to close out of pleasure right now, upstairs. This sole thought got him to clench his jaw.

"So?" Jo said, urging him to tell her what he wanted. Dean remembered why he came to Jo. He came because he, too, could have his night of fun, just like the two others right now, upstairs. He came because she could take his mind off all the feelings that he wasn't able to bury deep inside at the moment.

"Yeah, um… So…." He began, turning to lean against the counter while she stared at him. "Dangerous mission tomorrow. Guess it's time to eat, drink, and, you know, … Um, make merry."

"Are you giving me the 'last-night-on-earth' speech?" She asked with an eyebrows quirked up incredulously.

"What?"

" _What_?" She repeated.

"No," he said quickly before they both laughed a bit. "If I was, would, uh, would that work?"

Jo studied his face as thoughts and questions ran through her mind. There was a time when she would have squealed and immediately jump on the occasion to get more than a friend interaction with Dean. In fact, there was a time when she would have done anything to have some kind of romance with that man even though he was older than her and he was a womanizer. But, she grew up since then. There were leftovers of her crush for the elder Winchester in her, but since the incident back in River Pass, almost no leftover remained. Sure, she still found him extremely attractive and she was reminded of her crush whenever she saw him. But, she no longer closed her eyes on his lack of feelings for her. Truth be told, she couldn't close her eyes anymore when she saw the way he behaved when it came down to that young brunette. She couldn't pretend not to see the way he was whenever Kate was around. It hurt her a bit to see him behave with Kate the way she had wished for him to behave with her. But, it didn't hurt as much as it would have been if she hadn't grown up since then. Now, Jo could even read between the lines. Unfortunately, reading between the lines of Dean Winchester was a source of heartache for the woman who once fantasied about a romance with him. It was a faint heartache, but it still was one.

"No," Jo softly shook her head, taking Dean aback. He would have never imagined her refusing his advances. "For two reasons. First, I like to think that I've got a little thing called self-respect that I'd like to spend time with for my potential last night on Earth," she said, causing him to slightly scoff. She continued, her voice even softer than ever before, "And second… I'm not the one you want, Dean."

"Well, you don't know that," he smirked at her.

"I do," she gave him a little sad smile, which made him turn serious all of sudden. "I see the way you look at _her_. Actually, I think we all do."

With that, she made a step ready to return to her seat next to her mother before she stopped as she spotted Kate leaning against Bobby's desk while she talked with the younger Winchester. She spun around and looked at Dean whose eyes were already glued to the brunette. She didn't say anything as she continued the few steps to her seat, next to her mother and across of the trench-coat angel.

Dean was filled with a deep feeling of relief that he couldn't truly explain. Kate wasn't enjoying her night with Matt, upstairs, like he thought she was.

No, she was there, in the living room, talking with his little brother. And, now he felt terribly bad for imagining that she would be screwing around with Matt upstairs.

When the brunette laughed, throwing her head back at whatever Sam told her, Dean couldn't look away if he tried. He was mesmerized by her like he had never been before. Her curly hair was swinging in the air as she shook her head right and left while laughing. And when she slightly bent down to take off her brown boots, it was Sam's turn to laugh at whatever she told him. Dean could see his little brother's profile and he watched with a corner smile at the way Sam's face was all lit up. His little brother was laughing the way Dean liked to see him laugh; with his full heart. As his eyes returned to Kate, he realized for the umpteenth time that she made this happen very often, and Dean would always be grateful to her for making his little brother this happy in such dark times.

He shifted his green eyes back to the young brunette who had finished putting off her boots. He watched her as she listened carefully at what Sam was telling her. She licked her lips before biting on the lower one as she nodded. Then a bright smile appeared on her creamy white face and something suddenly echoed in the back of Dean's mind.

His own voice echoed. Maybe a little rougher. Definitely older.

The words said were the ones that his future-self had told him.

And only now did they make some real sense to him.

" _When the world burns and you know that everyday might be your last day on Earth, your eyes open to things that have been there all along."_

* * *

It wasn't very long before Bobby stopped rolling back and forth between the living room and his little bedroom at the end of the first floor hallway. He had been keeping himself busy with his own stuff and no one had managed to get him to stop and just chill out with everybody. He had tried to at first; he had even drunk a whole beer at the kitchen table with Ellen, Jo and the angel. But, the thing was that he hadn't been able to stay put more than a few minutes. Too many thoughts were wildly running through his mind for him to enjoy the night. But, one peculiar thought popped up and crashed all the other ones.

In a few hours, they were all going to go face the Devil while he would stay safely put back at his place.

Bobby felt extremely bad to not be more useful to all of them. Even though he kept quiet about it, he wished he could go with them and fight alongside. But, he couldn't. One glance to his legs was enough to remind him of how useless he had become these past months. He tried so hard to hold onto that speech Dean gave him a few months ago.

" _You don't stop being a soldier 'cause you got_ _wounded_ _in battle."_

Dean was right. But, it didn't entirely take away the deep guilt that the old man felt.

In fact, it went beyond this; it was the realization that chances were that they may not come back. These people he cared so much about, this _family_ of his may not come back.

They may fail the mission and never come back.

And, they may succeed the mission and never come back.

The old man would have to wait for long hours, days maybe, after their departure to Carthage to find out if they all made it or not. His own thoughts would drive him crazy until he would be one hundred percent sure that they were all alive. Time would extend itself, he knew that. Short minutes would feel like long hours, he knew that. He was aware of all these things as much as he was aware of his helplessness.

As he fixed his camera on a tripod, right next to the doorway leading to the hallway, Bobby tried to ignore the little voice in the back of his mind that kept repeating that this picture he was going to take may end up being all he would have left of them.

"Everybody get here!" Bobby called for everyone as he fiddled with the camera. Sam and Kate who were still chatting at his desk, turned their heads at the old man. "Usual suspects in the corner."

"Oh no," Kate muttered under her breath as she looked at what the old man was settling.

"Oh come on, Bobby," Ellen sighed as she and her daughter stepped in the room. "Nobody wants their picture taken."

"Hear, hear," Sam agreed as Matt arrived from upstairs.

"Can I skip it? I'm really not photogenic," Kate said in almost a whining tone while Matt who was standing at the doorway just one foot away from Bobby, stared at her with an amused look all over his thin face.

"Shut up. You're drinking my beer," Bobby said to all of them, causing Matt to chuckle as he stared at Kate lightly pouting while Sam playfully nudged her sides. "So, you're all gonna be in that picture – you too, Matt," he added, glancing up at the grey-eyed hunter.

"But – "

"No, but. Everyone, I said," Bobby cut him off, right when Dean stepped in the living room. His bow legs automatically led him to his little brother and the young brunette while Ellen fixed Castiel's tie and Jo brushed her long wavy blond hair back with her thin fingers.

Matt dragged his feet to the rest of the people as Bobby rolled with his wheelchair to where they were all standing.

"Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by," Bobby explained in a fake grumpy tone that amused Kate before she sighed along with the others.

They all looked at each other and got in position for the picture. Castiel was on the left, followed with Sam, Ellen, Matt, Kate and Dean. In front of Ellen and Matt was Jo, and in front of Kate and Dean was Bobby.

"Ha! Always good to have an optimist around," Ellen exclaimed, causing everyone to scoff and chuckle. They all kept their eyes focused on the camera that was going to snap the picture at any moment now.

"Bobby's right," Castiel stated in a grave voice. "Tomorrow we hunt the devil. This is our last night on earth."

Everyone's smiles disappeared and when Kate felt Dean's arm around her mid back pull her a bit closer to him. Her own hand clung at the fabric of his kaki shirt on his back as she looked up at him.

Then, the camera flashed.

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

Sitting on the chair right next to Bobby's desk, with her knees up against her chest, Kate's brown eyes fixed the young Winchester who was sitting on the couch as he held his cellphone up to take a picture of the photography taken an our ago.

"Really, Sam?" She told him as a tiny sound echoed from his cellphone, indicating that the picture had been taken.

"What? It's a nice picture," he told her as he looked up at her.

"We all look depressed on this picture," she remarked as he put the picture and his cellphone down on the coffee table.

"Yeah, but it's the only one we've got with almost everyone on it even though you're not lookin' at the camera," he replied. "Unless, if I can convince everyone to take another one tomorrow morning."

"Oh no," she scoffed as he looked over at her. "I hate pictures."

"Right, you think you're not photogenic," he sarcastically scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

"Shut up. I'm really not," she insisted and he shook his head, a little smile on his face. She watched him as he rubbed his eyelids. She continued in a softer voice, "You look tired. Maybe, you should ask Castiel to play sandman with you, too."

Sam put his hands away from his face and looked at the brunette who was sitting across him, the coffee table being the only thing between them. She looked a bit tired as well, but he knew that she asked Castiel to put her to sleep only if her tea didn't put her to sleep naturally. The angel had used his mojo to put Ellen, Jo, Matt and Bobby to sleep about half an hour ago, as he knew that they would all need to take as much rest as possible for what was to come. Their confrontation with the Devil was anticipated by all of them; although in different ways. The younger Winchester had noticed it, but hadn't commented once. Of course, they would all be afraid of what was going to happen in Carthage. Like Castiel had put it with so much sensitivity, this was their last night on earth. They already knew that fact deep inside of them, but not saying it out loud had given them the possibility to pretend they weren't doing something stupid. But, they couldn't pretend anymore. They had to face the harsh reality; the harsh reality that Sam had forced upon all of them. He was completely aware that it was all on him. No matter how much he had worked on himself to forgive himself for his mistakes that had led to the Apocalypse, he knew two things. He would never forget what he had done and he would never entirely forgive himself.

"Sam?" Kate's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. His hazel eyes snapped at her immediately and he saw the concern written all over her features. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," he whispered, looking away.

She scanned his face for a second before putting her legs down and standing up. She approached him and took a seat right next to him. He turned his face to look at her, a weak smile grazing his lips as she gave him nothing but sad look in return.

"You wouldn't lie to me on a night like tonight, right?" She half-whispered to him.

"I…" He started before turning his face to look at the picture on the coffee table. He took a deep breath and sighed, as she simply watched his profile. "We wouldn't be here if I wasn't stupid."

"You're not stupid, Sam. You never were," she told him with softness. "You just thought you were doing good."

"Yeah, well thinking I'm doing good by trusting a demon instead of my brother, it's what I call stupid," he said in return, his tone slightly bitter, but obviously at himself.

"Alright, then," she gave a nod. He looked at her. "You were stupid for listening to a demon even though you thought you were doing good. You were stupid. But, you know what? You're not the only one who's ever been stupid. I mean, wasn't it stupid for me to believe that I could save you all by becoming the most destructive weapon of the universe? I'm pretty sure it stands with your brother being stupid to sell his soul to save you from death. And, it gotta stands with you trusting a demon to save the world and your brother – oh wait, that's what we were talking about at first." Sam let out a light scoff as he looked away. She swiftly brought her hand up to his cheek and turned his face for him to look into her eyes. "We all do things, thinking we're doing right, thinking we're doing good, while we're just not. It's not our decisions and their consequences that truly matter, Sam. It's the reasons why we made those decisions. And, this is what you gotta remember. No matter what happens, you need to remember that all of this isn't on you. It was part of _their_ plan; they would have made you break that finale seal one way or another. But, it's not what's important," she let go of his cheek, but he never moved his head. He kept his green-hazel gaze locked with hers as she continued, "What's important is that, at the end of the day, whether you were stupid or not, you did it: you saved your brother."

"I don't think I did," he admitted in a little voice, looking away. "I think I made it worse for him."

"That's where you're wrong," she told him. "You saved him by coming back to him. Trust me, all Dean needs is you. As long as you are by his side, nothing else matters, Sam. Nothing and no one else."

"That's where you're wrong," he replied, shifting his eyes back to her genuinely confused face. After all this time watching his big brother, Sam knew that what Kate was telling him wasn't entirely true. Someone else deeply mattered for Dean, even if this latter didn't admit it.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

Unlike the morning of the previous day, this morning was utterly silent. It was dawn and they all woke up about twenty minutes ago. Thanks to Castiel's mojo, the few hours of sleep that they all had, had been as refueling as two nights of good sleep. But, it didn't stop Ellen from making some black coffee for everyone. While Sam and Dean walked outside with Bobby, the brown-haired woman watched her daughter packing her bag for the third time. Ellen knew that Jo was slowly getting more scared about what they were going to do, but she knew that no word would make her stay at Bobby's. She had tried to persuade her more than once, but Jo wouldn't let her go to Carthage without her. Ellen couldn't be more proud of her daughter, but in the same time she couldn't be more afraid for her daughter.

As Matt walked in the living room to put his mug coffee in the kitchen's sink, he spotted Jo's nearly shaky hands as she stuffed salt bullets in her bag before taking them out and putting them again in the bag. He put his mug on the desk and went to gently help the young huntress who smiled up at the grey-eyed hunter, which made Ellen smile as well.

"Hey," Dean said as he stepped in the living room. "You've seen Katilin?"

"Um, no," Ellen shook her head.

"I think she's still in her room," Matt replied and Dean nodded at him before spinning around and headed upstairs.

In no time, Dean found himself in front of Kate's bedroom's door. He stared at it for couple of seconds or more, the conversation he had with Sam and Bobby a few minutes ago echoing in the back of his mind.

" _Maybe, Katie should stay,"_ Sam had said as he was leaning against the Impala's trunk. _"I mean, Lucifer told her he would get her to help him."_

" _And, Lucifer said you were gonna say 'yes' to him, so maybe you should stay here, too,"_ Dean had replied.

" _Dean, we've already talked about this. I'm not gonna say 'yes',"_ Sam had replied, sounding a bit irritated.

" _But, Kate could definitely say 'yes'_ ," Bobby declared, making the two brothers turn their heads to look down at him. _"I know the kid promised that she ain't gonna do any of this since what happened last time. But, with you two and Matt going? Kate's gonna be ready to do anything to prevent Lucifer from laying one finger on any of you."_

" _You think she'd go as far as helping Lucifer?"_ Dean had asked, looking back and forth at the old man in his wheelchair and his little brother standing next to him.

" _You tell me,"_ Bobby had replied, earning a sigh from the green-eyed hunter. _"But, if you think you can keep an eye on her and prevent her from doing anything stupid, then I have nothing to say."_ Dean had then turned his gaze to his little brother before exhaling another sigh and nodding in sign of giving in the idea to not bring Kate along to Carthage.

Dean lightly knocked on the door before he heard the young brunette's voice gently allowing to come in.

Once he stepped in the room, he saw her standing over her bed as she zipped her back bag.

"Hey," she softly whispered, looking over at him.

"Hey," he whispered back, closing the door behind him as she went to grab her brown military jacket and put it on her kaki shirt.

His green eyes travelled from her brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail down to her ankle-high brown boots. He spotted the handle of a knife in one of the boots, which made him realize even more how much she looked like a hunter. He could remember easily when she first arrived and was freaking out at the mess of their world while wearing simple clothes and converse shoes. She didn't look like a hunter back then.

"You're okay?" She asked, pulling him out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I just… I gotta talk to you."

"Maybe, we should keep that talk for the road trip," she suggested with a smile.

"That's not gonna be possible," he replied causing her smile to drop and a frown of confusion to appear on her face. "You," he started before clearing his throat. He looked right into her brown orbs and said with seriousness, "You can't come with us."

"What?" She breathed out.

"I'm sorry, you have to stay here."

"You're kidding me, right?" She asked, but the way he looked at her gave her the answer she didn't want to hear. "Why? Why can't I come? I don't get it. Yesterday, it was okay and now, it's not. Why?"

"Sam and Bobby think that Lucifer might manipulate you into agreeing to help him," he began, causing a disbelief look to flash on her face.

"You really think I would help the Devil?"

"No," he shook his head. "Even if we all know what you are capable of when a friend of yours is in danger, I know that you'll never help that son of a bitch."

"So, why can't I come?" She asked and Dean stared at her for a couple of seconds before admitting to her the real motive of his.

"Because I won't be able to protect Sam and you."

"We've already talked about this, Dean. You don't have to protect me," she told him approaching him.

"No, Kaitlin. I have to," he replied, looking down at her. She could see that he meant it. She could see his sincere need to protect her sparkling in his green eyes. "And, I know that I won't be able to focus on the fight if I gotta keep an eye on Sam _and_ on you. If you come, I'll worry too much."

"Worry about what? We all know that nothing will happen to me. But you, on the other hand, anything can happen to you," she told him. "Lucifer may not lay one finger on Sam, but he won't care about damaging Michael's vessel. If anyone needs protection, it's you, Dean," she reached for his forearm and squeezed it gently – the way she often did. "Let me help you," she added in a murmur.

"If you wanna help me," he replied, resting his hand on top of hers. "Stay here, stay safe," he continued before dropping his green gaze to their hands.

Tears started to form in Kate's eyes as she felt Dean's hand slightly tremble. She looked down at it as she realized that Dean was afraid. He didn't let it show to anyone but he was afraid. He was afraid of the outcome of that mission and he was afraid of losing the people he cared about. Dean's truest fear was losing the people he cared so much about; his family. Not long ago, Kate had slowly realized that she was part of this little family of his. Thus, if she wanted to take some of this fear away from him, she had to agree on not going to Carthage.

 _You will have to make choices that will tear you apart, you will lose people dear to your heart…_

She had to agree on letting them all go on their own even though she knew it would kill her if anything happened to them.

"Alright," she told him in a little voice, causing him to look up at her. "I'll stay here," she declared, her free hand going up to put his mother's ring hanging in a necklace under his collar. "And I'll wait for you to come back," she finished, gently patting the collar.

Dean put his hand away from hers and took a little step back as he brought his hands up and took off his necklace. She stared at him as he looked down at his mother's ring for a moment before approaching Kate and beginning to put the necklace above her head.

The brunette quickly stepped back, "What are you doing? No, you keep it with you."

"I want you to keep it until I come back," he told her, advancing towards her while she took another step back and the back of her knees hit the bed behind her.

"No, Dean, I can't. _You_ can't! It's your mother's –"

"Exactly," he cut her off. "It's my mother's. I won't forgive myself if I lose it there. Please, Kaitlin. Just keep it until I come back. Please," he placed the necklace above her head and she didn't move nor say a word as he gently slid it down until it was around her neck. He rested his large hands on the crooks of her neck, his calloused thumbs caressing her soft, warm skin. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For doing what I ask you without protesting too much for once."

"I wish I could have some nice comebacks to that, but I guess we'll have to wait for later," she told him and his lips curled into a sad amused smile. "You be careful, there. Okay?"

"Okay," he gently answered.

"And, you come back," she added, her voice slightly breaking as she broke the eye contact and focused her brown gaze on his collar. He could feel her deep concern and pain to let them all go. "You come back, Dean."

His green eyes studied her face for a second as he realized that she was asking _him_ to come back.

" _When the world burns and you know that everyday might be your last day on Earth, your eyes open to things that have been there all along."_

He leaned down and tenderly kissed her forehead.

"And, I come back," he whispered against her forehead before letting another gentle kiss.

It was a kiss full of comfort, respect and care. Almost like the one she had given him in the staircase before they summoned The Opener of the Way months ago.

Nearly reluctantly, Dean pulled slightly back. His face only a few inches away from hers as his green eyes glanced down at her lips before shifting back to her brown eyes. It took him the same glancing to his lips from her eyes, for him to lean his face closer to hers.

Her eyes began to blink close as he got closer when suddenly, a bright red light flashed in the room.

By instinct, Dean pulled Kate against his chest and put his arms up around her to protect her from whatever it was, their eyes shutting close at the blinding red light.

A short few seconds later, Kate opened her eyes. Her face was buried against Dean's strong chest, and while he usually felt so warm, he now felt strangely cold.

"Dean?" She whispered, trying to take a step back but not succeeding as his arms were hanging still around her.

She looked up at his face and saw that his eyes were still tightly shut.

"Dean?" She repeated, her hands going up to his chest. She was surprised when her palms landed on a hard stone, cold body.

Puzzled and scared, she hesitantly moved her left hand up and touched his face. He was as hard and cold as a statue.

"What…" She began before her eyes landed on her left wrist. He had offered her a watch not long ago, claiming that it was the kind of watch that resisted everything. But, similarly to her previous watch which the arrows had frozen about a month ago, this watch's digital numbers weren't changing the slightest.

She stepped back, but once again her body bumped against Dean's arms that were frozen up in the air. She glanced up at the dirty-blonde hunter and then she slowly bent down to get out of the little trap made by his arms. Slowly panicking, her eyes were glued to him as a countless number of questions rushed through her mind.

"I didn't interrupt you, did I?" A male voice said, causing Kate to spin around.

Her confusion vanished away as her eyes landed on the man who wasn't really a man; the Guardian wearing out-of-time clothes along with a little smirk on his thin lips.

"Chronos."

"Kaitlin," he said, his smirk growing bigger.

"What did you do to him?" Kate immediately asked, pointing at Dean.

"Nothing. I just froze time so we could have a long over-due tête-à-tête," he replied, taking his hat off and brushing his short brown hair back. "So, you're ready to make that deal?"

"Why did you take so long to come back?" She asked him. If she had learned something from her hunter friends, it was to not trust anyone without asking questions first.

"Because I had to make sure of a few things first," he briefly replied. "So, ready for the deal?"

"What things?"

"Are you going to answer all my questions with another question?" He asked and Kate just stared at him. He sighed, put his hat back on top of his head and then said, "I had to make sure that it would be the right time." She questioned him with her brown eyes. "If you remember, the doors between your universe and this one were closed."

"Were closed? They're open, now?" She asked as realization hit her. "So, that means I can go back without your help."

"By using that blood spell, you mean? Well, yes, of course. But, you won't," he half-smirked at her, his brown eyes sparkling with some kind of mischief.

"What makes you believe that I won't?" She told him, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to look stronger than what she really was.

"Because after all this time spent in this universe, I ought to believe that you know better," he simply replied.

"You're right. I know better than to trust making a deal with a creature would –" She was suddenly cut off by him.

"I'm not a creature!" He shouted, startling her. His brown eyes were suddenly filled with a fierce anger as he stared at her. The expression on his eyes slowly softened and he continued in a whisper, "I'm a god. You should feel blessed that I even consider helping you."

"Y-you want me to help you back," she stammered in a little voice. "You said you would help me find my way back to my universe, only if I did something for you in exchange."

"Yes, indeed," he replied, his brown eyes studying her face. "Unfortunately, everything has a price. Even happiness," he moved his gaze to the frozen Dean and then back to her. "So, here is the deal. I'll show you what brought you to this world, and you'll get something for me."

"So, you're not really gonna help me get back to my universe?" She asked, furrowing her brow.

"Trust me, it's by showing you what brought you here that you'll have your way home," he replied.

Her brown eyes scanned his face for a short while and then she asked, "What is it that you want me to get you?"

"Something very ancient and very powerful," he began before extending an arm in front of him. He unclenched his fist and a tiny ball, the size of a marble appeared on the middle of his palm. It was a transparent ball, filled with what looked like golden sand, and she found herself almost hypnotized by it.

"What is it?"

"You don't need to know," he replied, closing his fingers on the tiny ball that disappeared. "All you need is to steal it and bring it to me."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" She asked, looking up at him.

"For some reasons that you also don't need to know."

"You really think I'm gonna steal a mystic object and bring it to you, while you don't reply to any of my questions?" She asked, frowning at him. "What tells me that you're not gonna use it to destroy the world?"

"I'm a Guardian," he declared in a calm tone. "My mission isn't to destroy this world; it is to keep it safe. Whether God is on His Throne or not, my mission remains the same," he said, staring right into her brown eyes. "But, some people take advantage of his departure to change their missions and to defame His words. What you have to understand, Kate, is that God never wanted the Apocalypse." Kate listened carefully to him as he approached her. "If the end of this world happens, then just like Him and just like you, I will lose things that are important to me. This 'mystic object' as you call it, here is what I need it for," he brought one hand up to graze his fingers against her cheek.

Her eyelids closed and a flow of images and information flashed through her eyes.

When he pulled his hand away, her eyes shot open.

"So, now you know," he simply told her, stepping back. "So, do we have a deal? Do I give you the chance to see what brought you here in exchange of what I want?"

"I… Wait, you want me to steal that thing from The Cleaner," she said, remembering a part of the information that he had made her see. "I… I can't… If he sees me, he'll kill me. He's got something against me."

"I know," he smirked.

"What if I fail?"

"You won't fail," Chronos remarked.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, you didn't fail," he replied as she frowned in confusion. "As long as you keep in mind what I made you see, you won't fail. You will see; the first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."

With that, he snapped his fingers and both he and Kate vanished away.

Time immediately unfroze.

Dean's arms fell into thin air as he tried to pull Kate closer to his body. He snapped his eyes open to see that the brunette was nowhere to be seen.

"Kaitlin?" He murmured as panic slowly started to fill him. "Kaitlin?!" He shouted louder as he spun around himself.

"Kaitlin!" Dean shouted even louder as he quickly made his way out of the bedroom and automatically ran downstairs. "Kaitlin!"

"Dean, what the hell?!" Sam exclaimed from the front door before he and Bobby followed him to the living room.

"Where's Kaitlin?!"

"What do you mean, where's Kaitlin?" Ellen asked, frowning at the agitated dirty-blonde hunter standing in the middle of the room. "Weren't you with her upstairs?"

"I-I was. She was with me, but then there was that big… Big flash of light and then she fucking disappeared!"

"What?" Jo frowned, confusion as obvious on her face as it was on everyone else in the room.

"A flash of light? _Red_ light?" Matt inquired, worry forming over his face as he stared at the elder Winchester. "In the whole room?"

"Yeah!" Dean exclaimed, staring at the grey-eyed man. "What was it?!"

"Chronos," Matt muttered under his breath before clearing his throat and repeating for everyone to hear. "Chronos."

"Chronos? The Guardian" Sam asked, colour completely erased from his dimpled face.

"Yeah," Matt replied in a little voice. "If she disappeared with him, it means that she made the deal. But, if she made the deal, then she's –" Matt stopped himself before he looked up at Dean who never blinked once. He gulped down and said, "She got her ticket back home."

* * *

Kate nearly lost her balance as she suddenly appeared in the middle of a street, on which the sun shone brightly. She looked around her and confusion filled her completely as her brown eyes took in the scenery. A few pumpkins and scarecrows decorated the street, and on the trees a several fake ghosts were hanging. Her eyebrows knit together as she started to take a few steps, still looking around her as she wondered where Chronos sent her to. There was still a little over a month before Halloween, and yet, this street was ready as though Halloween was going to happen the next day. The only street that she knew was able to prepare Halloween this long before, was the one she grew up in. But, this street didn't look like the one she grew up in. Yet again, maybe it was this universe version of her street, in which only the architecture would have changed.

A car's frantic honking made her whip her head at the direction.

Her eyes immediately spotted a little boy dressed in a cowboy costume, standing in the middle of the road.

With no hesitation, Kate ran to the little boy and she grabbed him before jumping off the middle of the road with him in her arms.

They landed on the sidewalk as a woman's scream echoed in the quiet street.

Kate groaned as she moved her head to look at the young boy.

Her brown eyes immediately met his big innocent eyes full of incomprehension of what had just happened.

"You're okay?" She asked the little boy who stood up and tried to help her sit up even though she was taller and bigger than he was.

"Oh my God!" A woman's voice cried, causing the little boy to turn his head towards the direction of the woman.

As he quickly ran towards the woman, Kate moved her hand up to her forehead and when she looked at her hand, she grimaced at the blood.

She looked up to see the woman hugging her son, with her face buried in the little crook of his neck.

She sighed, a little smile on her lips before she moved her brown eyes up to a banner hung from one tree of this sidewalk to a tree of the opposite sidewalk.

Her eyes slowly went round as she read what was written on the black and orange banner.

"Oh my God, thank you so much!" The woman exclaimed as she rushed to Kate's sides while carrying her son against her chest.

Kate turned her head to look at the woman, and she froze.

"Oh no, you're hurting," the woman remarked as the little boy moved his head to look at Kate who slowly moved her gaze to him.

Once again, her brown eyes met his big innocent eyes.

His big, innocent _green_ eyes.

"Can you hear me?" The woman asked, putting one hand on Kate's shoulder.

The brunette shifted her gaze back to meet the blonde-haired woman's blue eyes.

"Mary?" Kate breathed out.

"Do I know you?" The woman slightly frowned.

"Mom – "

"Not now, Dean," the blue-eyed woman gently stopped her son before returning her attention to the young brunette staring at them with big eyes and a pale face.

Kate couldn't believe it but as she moved her gaze back to the banner, she understood.

' _ **Happy Halloween**_ _ **1983**_ _ **!'**_

Chronos had sent her back in time.

Chronos had sent her back to a time when Dean Winchester was only a little boy.

Chronos had sent her back to a time when Mary Winchester, was still alive.

Suddenly, it dawned to her.

Somehow, Mary Winchester was linked to Kate's presence in this universe.


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy New Year! (I know I'm late, but still!)**

 **This chapter was edited by the sweet 'Igotzapped' who I can't thank enough! However, since she's got quite a lot of things to do lately and I wanted to post this chapter today, the last part (starting with **SPN** until the end) was edited just by myself… So I'm sincerely sorry if that last part is too full of mistakes.**

 **This chapter contains elements from the episode '** _ **Abandon All Hope**_ **' (5x10).**

* * *

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1983.**_

 _ **Lawrence, Kansas.**_

Kate was completely still.

Her breathing slow and subtle whereas her heartbeats were wild against her ribcage.

Her brown eyes were big as they followed the movement of the hands gently taking care of the wound on her forehead.

"Alright," the blonde whispered in a soft voice. She leaned back and gave a warm smile to the brunette who never stopped staring at her. "Fortunately, I think it won't be necessary to drive you to the hospital," she declared as she put the cotton pad and alcohol back in the first-aid kit that was settled on her lap. "You're tougher than you look. Didn't even wince once."

Kate didn't say a word. What could she say? She was sitting on Mary Winchester's couch, in the middle of Mary Winchester's living room, right next to Mary Winchester herself. No matter how many unexpected, messy, weird things had happened to her since she got aspired into another universe, this was a unique situation for so many reasons.

Things felt even more bizarre whenever Kate would move her brown gaze towards the further corner of the living room. There, a little, blue plastic table was settled along with a plastic chair, and a few toys were scattered all around that area. But, it was the little boy in a cowboy disguise that made Kate feel quite uneasy and completely perplexed. He was entirely quiet as he was focused on his drawing just like his mother gently told him to. Nevertheless, Kate caught him glancing at her and his mother at least three times since the two women settled on the couch for the blonde to take care of the brunette's little injury.

That little boy was Dean.

But at the same time, he wasn't Dean.

Or at least, not the Dean she knew.

 _Not yet._

That little boy was Dean before his whole world cashed down.

"You're with me?" Mary asked, waving her hand before Kate's face.

"Yeah," Kate succeeded to breathe out as she refocused her gaze on the woman.

Mary frowned at the never-leaving-pale expression on Kate's face. "All considering, maybe, I should drive you to the hospital –"

"No," Kate nearly exclaimed. "No, I'm fine. I'm good. I'm great. Really great."

"Alright," Mary drawled, studying the brunette's face with a bit of concern. She stood up, holding the first-aid kit in one hand. "Are you visiting someone around here?"

"Um, no… Not really," Kate replied, unsure of what to say exactly.

The thing was that she had not one single idea of what she could say or do. All she knew was that she had a mission to complete. A very important mission given to her by one of the Guardians. Chronos had used his powers to let her see what her mission was, and above all else he had shown her why it was so important for her to complete it. The mission was simple, yet extremely difficult and undoubtedly dangerous.

She had to steal a mystic object from the Cleaner and get it to Chronos so that he could contact God and get Him back to their world to stop what the angels have made Sam and Dean start.

Basically, with this stone, they could get God back to stop the Apocalypse.

The only reassuring thing about that dangerous mission was that Kate knew she had already succeeded it. Indeed, in the future the Cleaner itself had told her that she had taken something from him a long time ago. As confusing as this time travel all seemed to be, Kate couldn't deny the fact that all these questions about what happened with the Cleaner in 1983 were slowly getting their answers now.

Kate was pulled out of her thoughts by the sudden cries of a baby echoing in the room. She slightly frowned as she looked at Mary who threw a glance over her shoulder at the baby monitor placed on the edge of the coffee table.

"Ah, the little one is awake," Mary lightly chuckled. Within half a second, Kate realized who that 'little one' and it suddenly felt weirder for the young woman to be here.

"I should go – " The brunette began as she stood up from the couch.

"No, stay. I'll be right back," Mary declared, giving a gentle pat on Kate's arm before quickly walking around the couch while Kate simply watched her.

Once Mary had reached the staircase in the corridor and was no longer in sight for Kate, the brunette took a deep breath and closed her eyes shut. She rubbed her eyelids with her fingertips and brought her lower lip inside her mouth by biting on it with her upper teeth. She knew that she had a mission to complete, but _this_ was certainly not what she had expected. She would have never expected to be sent in a time when Mary Winchester was still alive. And, she would have never ever imagined that Mary Winchester would be linked to her presence in this universe filled with supernatural creatures. Even though Matt had given Kate files showing that Mary Winchester was at the place where the Cleaner had been and where Kate had supposedly confronted that Guardian, the young brunette still couldn't believe that there could be any connection between her presence in this universe and Mary Winchester. The fact that Sam and Dean's mother appeared on records of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital on the night of Halloween 1983 had come out as strange to Kate, but it hadn't alarmed her to the point of thinking that this former hunter was linked to her being pulled to this universe.

Kate let out a long breath and dropped her hand by her sides as she opened her eyes. Her brown gaze slowly drifted to the sideboard right next to the doorway Mary Winchester left through. Some photos in delicate metal frames were decorating the shelves on the piece of furniture. Kate's legs almost moved on their own and within a few short seconds she was standing in front of the sideboard, her eyes traveling from one picture to another.

A photograph of John and Mary, both looking younger and smiling at the camera.

A second one of John smiling down at the baby in his arms.

Another one of a little, green-eyed boy blowing his third birthday cake.

A slightly bigger picture of the same little, green-eyed boy sitting in the middle of an armchair, holding a baby in his arms while Mary sat on the armrest with a loving smile painted on her face.

"Hello sunshine," Mary's voice echoed from the baby monitor.

Kate turned to look at the device on the coffee table, but her gaze ended up landing on the quiet, young boy concentrated on his drawing at the little table.

Little Dean.

Four-year-old Dean.

Unaware-of-the-terrifying-world-outside Dean.

Kate watched him, her mind completely uninhabited by any kind of thoughts for a moment.

"Shh, mommy is here," Mary's voice echoed again. "You want mommy to sing? Mmh? Alright… _**Hey Jude,**_ _ **don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better**_."

When Dean started to hum along to his mother's voice, Kate felt indescribable feelings grow inside of her.

" _ **Hey Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her**_ ," Mary's beautiful voice continued singing. " _ **The minute you let her under your skin. Then you begin to make it better**_."

Kate stared at Dean, tears slowly welling in her eyes as she realized that she couldn't be there. She couldn't stay in that place while she knew what was going to happen in this house in just a couple of days. She couldn't stay in that place while she knew that this little boy won't be humming along his mother's singing the next years.

While the voice of Mary was no longer echoing from the baby monitor, Kate felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wiped the tear away with the back of her hand and shook her head. She took a few steps back, ready to go away because she knew that she couldn't stay around them. She simply couldn't. But by the time she had reached the front door, Mary was already in the staircase.

"Hey," Mary called from the staircase, causing Kate to spin around. "Don't tell me you were going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Kate didn't know what to say. Her brown eyes had dropped to the little baby in Mary's arms. In less than four seconds, the blonde was standing right in front of Kate whose brown eyes were glued to the baby.

"So, Kate," Mary smiled as she looked back and forth at the young brunette and the baby in her arms. "Meet Dean's little brother; Sammy."

Kate's eyes were sparkling as they traveled all over the cute face of the little Sammy. The baby's hazel eyes were looking right back at her with an awed expression that only babies could wear when seeing a new face for the first time.

The brunette slowly and nearly hesitantly reached her hand out to him. He immediately reached out his little arm and grabbed a hold of her fingers. His warm, tiny hand wrapped around her forefinger and he held it tight.

"I think he likes you," Mary commented with a smile, looking up at Kate's face to find a strong softness painted all over.

"He's so tiny…" the young brunette breathed out in a little voice.

"Yeah," Mary giggled. "He's going to be six months old in just a couple of days."

Kate's eyes shot up to look at the woman whose blue eyes instantly filled with puzzlement at the way the brunette's expression changed so radically. Mary couldn't describe the expression on the brunette's face, though. It looked as a mix of realization, pain, fear and guilt. It looked as though the brunette had been violently slapped to realization of something that was impossible to name.

Kate slowly took her hand away from the baby, ready to announce that she had to leave when she felt a tug on her jacket. She looked down to find little Dean standing there, his freckled face looking up at her.

"For you," he simply said in his little voice full of innocence as he held up a folded paper.

Kate looked back and forth at him and at the paper he was holding up for her. With no word, she took the sheet of paper from Dean and slowly unfolded it. There was a typical four-year-old child colorful drawing done on it. A house that looked like the one Kate was in right now, and five characters standing in front of the house. It was obvious that four of these characters were Dean, his parents and his little brother. As for the fifth one, it was a woman with messy brown curls on her head and a large smile that mirrored the others' smiles. It was obviously Kate, and that kept the brunette speechless.

"Aww, Dean," Mary slightly exclaimed as she looked at the drawing he had done. Dean grabbed his mother's free hand as she continued, "That is a very beautiful drawing."

"That's…" Kate began as a lump formed in her throat. She returned her brown gaze to Dean and cleared her throat, in attempt not to cry. "Thank you."

Mary watched the young woman, from her head down to her feet, when her breathing stopped. Her blue eyes stared at the object slid in Kate's boot. She couldn't see it entirely but she could recognize this kind of object anywhere.

It was the handle of a knife.

A real knife.

All of sudden, it all made sense to her. This young brunette who had saved her son from getting hit by a car and who hadn't flinched once when Mary took care of her injury, wasn't an ordinary person. The strange way she had behaved when Mary had insisted on getting her to follow her inside her house. The odd way she had looked at the place when they walked in. The bizarre way she had stared at Mary ever since her eyes laid on her. It all had seemed as though this young stranger was hiding something; something quite big.

"So, um, Kate," Mary cleared her throat, trying to still sound casual. "You told me your name, but you never said how you knew _my_ name?"

"Oh, um, I didn't know your name. I just said this randomly… Like you know, saying 'God'. That's it," Kate gave as a lame explanation, doing her best to avoid meeting Mary's blue eyes, which surely didn't go unnoticed by the blonde.

"Right," Mary nodded, slowly becoming more and more suspicious of the young woman standing in front of her. "And, what are your plans for tonight?"

"I've got work to do," Kate replied, slightly frowning as she folded the drawing and slid it in her jacket's pocket. "Which reminds me that I… I should go. I've gotta go check something out at the Lawrence Memorial hospital."

"Oh, what for?" Mary tried to casually interested as she held her baby closer to her chest and rubbed Dean's hand in hers.

"Um, nothing. I just need to check out something…" Kate trailed off while Mary watched her carefully. "It's nothing too big. It's just… I gotta see something where they keep the comatose people." Mary frowned at her. "That sounded really weird, but... Um, anyways, I should go."

"Sure," Mary simply said.

The brunette glanced at baby Sam and then at Dean before looking up at Mary and giving her a weak smile full of gentleness. "It was nice meeting you, Mary… You have beautiful, amazing boys. The most amazing boys in the world. You can be proud of them."

Mary's eyebrows knit together at the words that left Kate's mouth. They were filled with too much concern and sincerity than a stranger should ever have at a first meeting with someone. Right when Mary was going to say something in return, the front door opened.

"Daddy!" Dean exclaimed with joy as he let go of his mother's hand to run to his father who laughed as he crouched down to hug his son.

Kate turned around and looked down at John Winchester. He didn't look different from the pictures she had seen of him. But, to know that he had been the writer of that journal that Dean always kept with him, made her feel quite uneasy. She had expected to see on his face the sadness and the anger that filled those pages, but there was none of it.

 _Not yet_.

"I-I should go," Kate stammered, passing by the man whose questioning eyes went to his wife, only to find her staring at the leaving woman.

"Who was that?" He asked Mary, standing up while Dean looked up at him.

"I'm not sure," Mary replied before giving him baby Sam to hold. "I'll be right back," she told him and John didn't have the time to say anything as she went after the brown-eyed woman.

"Kate!" Mary called after the young brunette who kept walking. "Kate!"

Kate stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and closed her brown eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath and turned to look at the blue-eyed woman who was making her way up to her.

"Mary, just go back to your family," Kate told her, weirdly sounding worn out, which inevitably made Mary squint her eyes in suspicion.

"I know who you are," Mary stated, causing Kate's breath to falter. "You're a hunter." Kate was slightly relieved that Mary didn't really know who she was. But she remained quiet as she let Mary continue. "I saw the way you didn't flinch, not even one time, when I disinfected your wound. And, there's also the few faded scars on your hands and the one on your forehead. But, I think that what gave you away was the knife in your boot," Mary explained. She paused, slightly frowning and tilting her head to the side. "And, also your eyes," she whispered, confusing Kate. Mary shook her head, scoffing as she realized that Kate wasn't even denying what was being said. "And, I guess the fact that you knew my name was also a pretty good giveaway; because that lame excuse of yours, I don't buy it," Mary crossed her arms over her chest and asked, "So, tell me, which Campbell asked you to find me?"

Kate lightly shook her head. "It's more complicated than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't been sent by any Campbell. I've – " Kate stopped. She stared at Mary for a second before glancing at the house.

She could remember with clarity the times she was told about Mary Winchester's rueful fate. Sam had been the first one to tell her about his mother. Then, it was Bobby who told her a bit about this woman. But, most of the things she learned about Mary Winchester were due to the fact that she had read Chuck's Supernatural books and because she had read John Winchester's journal. The words written in that journal had broken her heart in thousand pieces and she could still feel that sadness deep inside of her. The truth was that this sadness only made her affection for Sam and Dean grow bigger and deeper over time. Sam didn't talk that much about his mother. But, Dean happened to open up more about this topic. The thing was that whenever the elder Winchester mentioned his mother, Kate felt that nameless feeling wash over her and it would always make her want to hug the green-eyed man in her arms. These times were the times when she wanted to give him more of that peaceful serenity he claimed that she brought him. She wanted to take the pain away from him and from his little brother. She wanted to be some kind of solace to them and not a burden. She knew that they deserved happiness and peace more than most people in this universe and every other dimensions.

Standing in front of Mary Winchester while knowing the rueful fate that was soon going to be hers, Kate realized that she was helpless to change Sam and Dean's destiny. They were doomed to have this harsh, painful and sad life. Because no matter what, what happened on November 2nd 1983 would still happen, just like what happened on the night of Halloween 1983 would still happen. As desperate as Kate was to not let Mary get involved in the events of that night, she knew that it wasn't up to her. All she could do now, was let Mary spend as much time as possible with her family before eventually finding her way to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

" _You've_ what?" Mary asked, taking Kate out of her thoughts.

Kate watched the blue-eyed woman for a moment before replying. "You're right. I'm a hunter. And I've… I've got work to do." Kate did her best to ignore the sorrow and guilt that she felt inside of her for standing in front of Mary Winchester while knowing perfectly what was going to happen to her in just a couple of days. "I've been sent here to complete a mission… But, I had no idea that I was gonna cross path with you. And even if I knew, I wouldn't want you to come with me… But, the thing is that… I think you will eventually. You may not come with me, but you'll be there tonight. No matter what, you will be at the hospital tonight. And… You will fight. You will fight that creature –"

"What are you talking about?" Mary interrupted the brunette, utter confusion filling her blue eyes.

"You're gonna fight a creature tonight. And –"

"No," Mary sharply cut her off. "I won't fight any creature. I'm not that girl anymore."

"Mary, you don't understand – "

"No, you're the one who don't understand," Mary interrupted her again. "I don't know what you've been told or who sent you here, and frankly I don't care. But," she paused as she approached Kate, making them only one step apart from each other. She raised her hand and pointed it towards her house as she continued, "But, I've got two boys in there. You've seen them. They're still babies. They have no idea what's lurking in the dark and I don't want them to ever know. I got out of this crazy, hunter life and I'm never gonna step back in it. _Never_. I've got a normal life and I plan to keep it that way for me, my husband and my kids. So, whoever you are, thank you for saving my son, but tonight I won't fight _any_ creature. The only activity I'll do tonight is 'treat or trick' with my kids. And, that's the closest thing to seeing monsters that I'll ever let my kids have in their life."

Kate felt a lump form in her throat.

Once again, it was evident for the young brunette that no matter what Mary said, she would still end up in that hospital tonight. The records of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital that Matt showed to Kate, had proved that fact. But, to hear Mary say such words only led Kate back into thinking about what would happen to her in a couple of says.

On November 2nd.

When Chronos had shown Kate what she was supposed to do and what for, he had made it obvious for her that she couldn't interfere with some things. Although it wasn't explicitly explained to her, she knew that preventing Mary from getting killed on November 2nd was one of these things she wasn't supposed to do. But, it wasn't easy to see Sam and Dean this young and not being able to save them from the tragedy that would destroy their lives in just a couple of days. And, it surely didn't make it easy to hear Mary's wishes of continuing living a normal and monster-less life with her family.

But, the thing was that even though Kate wanted to prevent this woman from getting killed, she knew that it wouldn't work. It would only create a paradox and Kate supposed that it was one of these things that once you managed to create them could only bring more chaos to the whole wide universe. Time traveling implied some huge responsibilities and something told her that she shouldn't try changing the past, even if it meant turning Sam and Dean's tragic life into a normal life full of love and joy.

"I… I get it," Kate cracked out, looking at the house and nodding. She felt tears threatening to leave her brown eyes. "And, I'm sorry," she shifted her gaze back to Mary whose features got softer at getting such a reaction from the brunette. "I'm so sorry… I-I should go."

With no further word, Kate turned around and quickly walked down the street while Mary remained on spot. A thousand questions were running through Mary's mind as she watched the young brown-head talking to one of the neighbors who was getting in their car. Mary's neighbor gave a nod at the brunette who made her way to the passenger's seat. Mary's brow furrowed as she watched the car drive away while Kate's words echoed through her mind in an endless loop.

" _You_ _have_ _amazing_ _, beautiful_ _boys. The most amazing boys_ _in_ _the world. You can be proud of them."_

* * *

 _ **September 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Carthage, Missouri.**_

Dean kept his eyes tightly shut, trying desperately to block out the cries of agony that Jo was making while her mother patched her up. The instant he had seen the young woman's violent injury, he had just walked to another part of the store, claiming that he wanted to quickly get a hold on Bobby, but it wasn't entirely true. A part of him wanted to contact Bobby, sure, but mostly he just didn't want to look at Jo losing all her blood. He knew that he was to blame. If he had prevented her from coming to Carthage with them, then she wouldn't have been attacked by that hellhound. If he had been completely focused on what was happening instead of having a part of his mind thinking about that impossible girl who returned to her universe, then Jo wouldn't have been attacked. He knew that it was all his fault. And, now he wasn't able to face the consequences of his actions. He wasn't able to look at Jo while she was bleeding to death because of him.

"Dean?" The elder Winchester snapped his eyes open at his name. He looked to his left and saw the blue-grey-eyed hunter standing there. "Um, I need that thing," Matt pointed out at an electronic object on the shelf next to Dean. "I'm almost done fudging a radio to contact Bobby."

Dean stared at the dark-haired hunter for a couple of seconds before stepping back so that he could take the object he wanted. Matt didn't say a word as he took the object and turned, ready to go back to where he was fiddling with electronic stuff in order to make a working radio.

"How's she holding up?" Dean asked, causing Matt to freeze on spot for a moment. He turned his face to look at the green-eyed hunter. The expression in his eyes was enough for Dean to guess the answer.

"What about you? How are you holding up?" Matt eventually asked in response.

"Me? My guts aren't spilled out on the floor," Dean replied in a bitter tone.

"Exactly," Matt stated before continuing in an almost hard tone. "Jo's got her belly ripped open, and you don't. But you still act as though you're going through worse."

"Excuse me?" Dean frowned at him.

"Get your head in the game, man," Matt told him. "Jo's got her guts out and she's still trying to figure out a plan for us to get out of here and find the Devil. You should be the one looking for a plan, not her. So, yeah, I know Kate's gone back to her dimension, and I know nothing's going according to plan, but you're not the only one shaken up by all this. We all are. But, it's not the right time for that. All that matters right now is to find a way to get out of here before it gets worse for Jo."

"He's right," Sam remarked as he approached the two men who turned their heads to look at him. "The only thing holding back the hellhounds is the salt lines."

"Which make us safe for now," Dean declared, his green eyes looking straight into his brother's hazel eyes.

"Yeah, safe or trapped like rats," Matt muttered loud enough for the two brothers to hear him before he walked off.

"He's got a point, you know," Sam stated in almost a whisper once the dark-haired hunter was away. Dean looked up at his little brother, only to find a mask of sadness covering his entire dimpled-face. "Maybe, we should find a way to get out and just run away. I mean, yesterday we thought it was a good plan, but we were seven. And, now with Katie back in her universe, Cas gone God knows where and Jo's condition… We're not enough to fight this fight."

"Hey, all we need is one hunter to shoot that son of a bitch in the face," Dean replied.

"Yeah, and who's it gonna be? _You_? Dean, half of your mind is elsewhere."

"And, yours is completely here?"

"Yeah," Sam immediately replied. "Yeah. Because, like Matt pointed it out, it's not the right time to think about anything else."

"So, what do you suggest? We run away?" Dean asked and Sam looked away. "Man, c'mon. You heard Meg, Dean. Her father's here. This is our one shot, Sammy. We gotta take it, no matter what."

"Alright, you wanna take this shot? Okay then, what's your plan? Because, so far we're trapped in the middle of a place crawling with reapers with no way out, and one of our friends is dying."

"You think I don't know that?" Dean half-whispered half-shouted, anger flickering in his eyes as he looked right into his brother's hazel orbs. "You think I don't know what's happening right now? Or maybe you think I don't care? Jo's bleeding out her guts because of _me_. The girl isn't even 24 and she's gonna die because I got distracted. Because the moment these hellhounds started to growl, I thought of how Kaitlin would calm me down." Sam watched his brother as his green eyes slowly lost their anger to be replaced by guilt. "If I hadn't thought of her at that moment, if I hadn't tried to look for something to calm me down, then Jo would be standing on her feet right now. Jo's in that condition because I got scared at the sounds of hellhounds. Because, even after years spent in Hell with these creatures around me, I'm still scared when I hear their growls," he looked away when his brother's eyes filled with sympathy. He sighed, rubbed a hand over his jaw and continued in nearly a whisper. "I wanna come up with a plan, Sam. Believe me, I want to. I wanna come up with a plan to end Lucifer and to get us all safe out of here. I wanna come up with a plan to save Jo and to," he paused, looking up at Sam. "I wanna get her back."

Dean didn't have to clarify who he was talking about when saying 'her'. Sam knew that his big brother had been missing the brunette from the moment she disappeared in front of his eyes. The mission had almost been cancelled if Bobby hadn't been there to remind them that Kate wasn't dead, that she was simply back to her universe. Dean hadn't shown any emotion about her sudden departure, but Sam knew his brother. He knew how well he buried it all kind of feelings and emotions inside of him.

"Dean," Sam began before Ellen called him, preventing him from attempting to comfort his big brother.

"Sam. Some help here, please."

Sam stared at Dean who dropped his gaze down to his shoes. He exhaled a long sigh and went to Ellen and Jo, leaving Dean alone with his crushing thoughts and questions.

All Dean desperately needed at this right moment was for some peace to embrace him the way it used to happen when _she_ was there.

* * *

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1983.**_

 _ **Lawrence, Kansas.**_

 _ **At the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.**_

It had been hours since Kate arrived at the hospital. It was past five thirty in the afternoon when she did her hundredth walk around the building while trying to figure out what to do when the Cleaner would get there. The thing was that she wasn't ready to face that strong and fearful creature. With only a knife and a tiny hex-bag on her, she knew that her chance to complete her mission only relied on the fact that in the future she was known to have completed it. It reassured her to the point of being confident enough that she would succeed. However, it didn't stop her from being entirely afraid of having to face that creature. The last time she had faced that hideous creature was about a year ago when she and Pamela were looking for answers about her presence in this universe. The Cleaner had been the first monster she had real nightmares about, but he had also been the first thing to rise up interesting questions about her.

She had taken something from him, but how could she have taken something from him?

He had met her back in 1983, but how could that be possible?

So many questions that puzzled everyone, but that Pamela found important. The psychic had been the first one to understand that having more questions wasn't bad. Having more questions meant searching for more answers; answers that would only lead to a better understanding of Kate's situation. Kate just wished she had tried to think like Pamela a bit more. She was certain that if she had done so, then she would have known more than one thing. Most certainly, she would have known that Mary Winchester was linked to her presence in this universe.

Of course, she still had not one single idea as to _how_ and _why_ Mary Winchester had something to do with Kate being in this universe. But, something told her that she would find out soon. Something told her that this time around she would get the answers to her questions. All she had to do was do as told; or rather do as shown.

Her mission was to steal an object from the Cleaner and give it to Chronos. She had been shown what the object she had to steal from the Cleaner looked like. Plus, she had been shown what this object represented. Apparently each of the three Guardians owned a sort of marble like the one Chronos had held out for her to see. Looking quite similar, these mystic marbles contained some of the raw essence of the Guardians' powers. However, Kate didn't know more about these marbles than the fact that once a Guardian had more than one marble in possession, they could summon God. And now that Kate knew God had nothing to do with the Apocalypse, she understood that He truly was their only hope to put an end on this whole madness that was the Apocalypse. By stealing that wondrous marble from the Cleaner, Kate would make it possible for God to return and stop what His angels were doing to His creation.

All she had to do was wait for the Cleaner to come to the hospital room in which fifteen persons were in coma. According to what Chronos had shown her, the Cleaner was going to use his mystic marble to get in the world of the living. Halloween was the end of the Harvest season and Pamela had explained to Kate that this was the only night during which the Cleaner could travel to the in-between world to sweep the wandering souls that got stuck in there. Whether souls that didn't follow the reapers or other creatures that hided in the in-between world, in fear of going into the world of the dead or even the world of the living, the Cleaner was there to take them away from the in-between world once a year. Sometimes, he would just send them to where they were supposed to go, but most of the times he saw them as meals. He would absorb some abilities of these wandering souls to reinforce his. It could be anything from sight, hearing, to voice, physical strength and intelligence. Whatever appealed him, he would just get it. Sometimes, when he would feel in the mood of playing with his prey, he would get several abilities from one, slowly making them more vulnerable until he decided to end them off completely. Chronos hadn't confirmed all this information that Pamela and researches had told Kate, but when she and Matt first met him back in California, he hadn't denied any of these things she had said about the Cleaner.

When the sun was finally down and the night embraced the place, Kate stopped walking and sat down on a bench right in front of the hospital. She dropped her head in her arms as she repeated to herself that she didn't have to be afraid, that she would complete this mission and that she would find how she got in this place, which would tell her how to go back to her place. She slowly rocked herself back and forth, repeating that everything was going to be alright, when she felt something slowly hanging from her neck. She looked down at the necklace hanging from her neck and her eyes immediately landed on the silver ring. She sat back up, her fingers holding the silver ring while her brown eyes stared at it.

Dean had given it to her before Chronos came.

" _It's my mother's. I won't forgive myself if I lose it there. Please, Kaitlin. Just keep it until I come back. Please,"_ Dean had told her before sliding the necklace with the ring around her neck.

She frowned as she remembered Mary taking care of her injury earlier. The blond-haired woman wasn't wearing that ring. In fact, she wasn't wearing any ring.

Kate mentally cursed at herself. It had been hours that she had done her best not to think about her meeting with Mary Winchester and her little family. She didn't want to think about that meeting because it hurt her more than she would have ever imagined. She didn't want to think about the hope in Mary's voice when this latter said that she wanted to live a normal life with her family. She didn't want to think about the genuine innocence in Dean's big eyes. She didn't want to think about the eager of discovery in Sam's sparkling eyes. She didn't want to think about any of that. But, now that she did, she just couldn't stop herself. And, she couldn't keep her mind from wondering what Mary could be thinking at this exact moment after meeting Kate. She couldn't keep her mind from wondering if she couldn't find a way to change Mary's sad fate without creating a big paradox. But, Kate knew. She knew that she couldn't, and that only caused more pain to build inside of her.

When the digital watch that Dean had offered to Kate started to beep around her wrist, she knew that it was time.

It was five to seven.

According to Chronos, the Cleaner was supposed to get in the world of the living at seven o'clock sharp. He would cross the in-between world and would appear in a room full of fifteen people in a deep coma. Kate had made sure to find where that room was when she was dropped at the hospital earlier. She had managed to sneak into the room and had quickly checked it out. Although she hadn't had the time to take a look at all the patients, for all she knew they were all ordinary, which could only confirm what Chronos had made her understand when showing her what her mission was: these people were the Cleaner's festive meal. The Cleaner was going to soak some of their abilities up, because they had no chance of waking up – or that he thought.

Kate stood up from the bench, her brown eyes looked up at the building as she took a deep breath. She gave a firm nod at herself, silently encouraging her to stay strong. Then, she started to make her way into the hospital.

Flashbacks began to fill her mind as she crossed the hospital reception hall.

 _A big shadow with two horns covered the floor of Pamela's house while heavy steps got louder and louder as the creature made its way downstairs._

Kate's heartbeats increased as she walked into one of the elevators while the flashbacks continued to come.

 _"Oh dear Kaitlin, I've been waiting for you,"_ the Cleaner had said in her voice after he had absorbed her voice and her sight. " _Yes, I've borrowed your voice. You don't mind, do you? I mean you've borrowed something that's mine too and I didn't say anything, did I? I can hear your thoughts. You are confused by what I am telling you. Let me refresh your memory a little bit,"_ the Guardian had said, approaching her. _"October 31_ _st_ _1983."_

Kate closed her eyes when some nurses left the elevator while she waited to get to the floor where the Cleaner was going to be in a few minutes.

His frightening hybrid appearance crossed her mind again. His upper body looked like the one of a human, only with big horns standing out his skull. The lower part of his body looked like the lower part of a ram, full of hair and large hoofs.

Kate opened her eyes when the elevator's door opened and she realized that she was at the right floor. She walked down the hallway before she saw a nurse making her rounds. Quickly, she went to hide at one corner. She bit on her lower lip, praying for the nurse to not take too much time. She had to be in that room before the Cleaner. Although she knew that the fifteen patients were going to wake up and be fine, she couldn't risk the Cleaner absorbing any of their abilities.

One of Pamela's recording started to echo in the back of her mind as the nurse walked away and she was able to continue walking down the hallway.

" _Apparently, that night of Halloween 1983, something quite interesting happened in the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Kansas. Fifteen people in a deep coma woke up that night, even the ones who were supposed to die! Gosh, fifteen people woke up from a deep coma and this only hit the Kansas' headlines! How damn crazy the 80's were! Anyways, the only possible conclusion that comes into my mind is that for some reason the Cleaner didn't take the souls wandering in the in-between world that night… But why did this only happen in Lawrence? And is it connected to someone borrowing something from the Cleaner? And if that someone really was Kate, how to explain her presence back then?"_

The young brunette finally arrived in front of the room in which the Cleaner was supposed to appear in just a couple of minutes. She pushed the door open and walked in before quietly closing it behind her. There wasn't much light in the room so she reached out her arm and switched on the light. In doing so, she noticed that she was violently trembling, which also made her realize that she was panting. She tried to control her breathing as she crouched down and pulled her knife out of her boot.

"It's alright," she murmured to herself as she stood back up. "It's alright. No need to be scared. You know you're gonna be okay."

Her brown eyes looked at the fifteen beds. The patients were all plugged up to some machines that made a subtle, constant sound that echoed in the silent, big room. She frowned when she noticed that one of the bed was empty. She walked towards it, not understanding how one of the fifteen patients would be missing.

"Excuse me, miss," a masculine voice said, startling Kate who turned around to look at the door. There stood a tall, thin dark-brown-haired man. "You don't have the right to be here. It's past visiting hours," he told her as she slowly hided her knife behind her back.

"Um, yeah, I know, but I can't leave," she tried to explain. She took a step towards him. "But, you should leave _right now_."

"Alright," he nodded before pulling his hand out. "Come with me," he told her.

"No, you don't get it, I can't –" She suddenly stopped at what her brown eyes noticed on now. The nurse's shadow: it was a massive shadow, far too big to belong to a human, and it had horns at the extremity of it.

"Miss, I don't have time to waste, so come on," he insisted, causing her to shift her gaze back to his face. Her brown eyes travelled down to his clothing and she realized only now that his white clothes were the ones of patients and not of a nurse or an intern.

She swallowed down as she understood that this man wasn't a man.

"Yeah," she breathed out, fear evident in her voice. She moved her arm and held her knife out in front of her. "Neither do I. _Guardian_."

"Hunter," he smirked. "But, not from this time. And definitely not from this universe." She remembered that the Guardians could see her soul no matter what shield her tattoo gave her. It made her realize that even though she believed to have the upper hand on him by knowing a bit of the future, he still had some advantages on her. As he took one step towards her, she automatically made one step back, which caused his smirk to widen. "What a little creature like you is doing so far away from home?"

"I- I need to borrow something from you," she stuttered.

"Really?" He asked, eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "And, why would I be helpful to somebody that holds a knife towards me?"

"It's only in case I have to defend myself," she replied as he glanced at her shaking hand.

"Alright. What do you want to borrow from me?"

"I don't know what it's called," she began, earning a chuckle from him. "But, it is that marble thing that you used to cross the in-between world and get here."

All the slight amusement that was on his face disappeared. The Cleaner was now staring at her with a harsh sternness that gave her goosebumps. He looked almost as terrifying as if he hadn't been possessing this innocent as a meatsuit.

"Who told you about that object?" He asked, his shadow slowly rising from the floor and covering his back like a dark coat. "Who are you?"

"I'm n-no one," she stammered, her brown eyes big as they stared at the shadow covering the top of his head and shaping out his big horns.

"Who brought you here?" He asked in a deep growl as her back hit the wall, trapping her. "What are you here for?"

"I-I'm from the future and I'm supposed to get that object from you in order to call God and to stop the Apocalypse," she tried to explain before his hand, covered with the dark shadow, quickly grabbed hold of her neck. He strangled her, sliding her up on the wall until her feet didn't touch the floor anymore.

She tried to stab him with her knife but his shadow swiftly tossed her knife away as he spoke to her. "You think you can lie to me? You're nothing, but a magnet among other billions of magnets that are scattered in all the universes. Your purpose isn't to save any world. In fact, you are of none importance. There are billions like you."

Kate started to suffocate. She grabbed his forearm, trying desperately to pull his hand away from her throat as she slowly felt oxygen lacking in her body. She began to feel dizzy as she was suddenly hit by a realization.

Things could be changed.

Just like what happened when she and the Winchesters had first met Chuck, things that were written could be changed. So, maybe the success of that mission wasn't as insured as she believed it to be. Maybe, the fifteen people in a coma would never wake up and she was going to die in the hands of the Cleaner.

Maybe, Dean was right when he said that nothing was ever set in stone.

* * *

 _ **September 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Carthage, Missouri.**_

After Matt had succeeded contacting Bobby with the radio he had fudged, he had brought the working machine to Dean so that they could both talk with the old hunter while Sam helped Ellen with her daughter. From his own observations and from what Kate had told him, Matt had concluded that Dean was the kind of man who never gave up when he had an important task to carry out. So, with no hesitation Matt had let Dean tell Bobby all the necessary information about what was happening in Carthage. Once Bobby prevented Dean from telling him too much about Jo's terrible condition, Matt had noticed that Dean got naturally back in track as he resumed control again. It became obvious for Matt that it was in Dean Winchester to be a leader. And, in this delicate, messy situation they were all in, Matt couldn't wish for a better leader than this hunter. This feeling grew more intense after what Bobby told them. Indeed, the old hunter had explained that the Devil was working a ritual to unleash the Horseman that had been chained in a box six hundred feet under the earth.

It wasn't any Horseman; it was the Angel of Death.

Matt didn't even need to listen further to Bobby's explanation. His memories of what he had learned in some of his theology classes back in College made him understand that the situation was worse than what they believed it to be. However, in attempt to convince himself that this bad news didn't mean that it was all a losing battle, Matt didn't let his feelings show on his features. He even took it on himself to announce all the news to the three other hunters.

Dean hadn't been long to join him where they all were settled by the store's checkout. His green eyes were sad as they stared at Jo, who wasn't looking any better. His little brother was crouched next to Ellen who was sitting at her daughter's side on the floor. Although they were all listening to every word that Matt said, Sam threw a few glances at his quiet brother. Concern was obvious in Sam's hazel eyes as he wondered how they were going to leave this store and get to the Devil before midnight.

"So, we know where that bastard is gonna be?" Ellen resumed.

"We know where he's gonna be, we know when and we have the Colt," Dean briefly explained, speaking up after being quiet for long minutes. His eyes moved to his little brother who stood up to walk towards him and Matt.

"Yeah, um guys," Sam started in nearly a whisper as he approached them. "So, we just have to get past eight or so hellhounds and get to the farm by midnight. That's the plan?"

"Yeah, and that's after we get Jo and Ellen the hell out of town," Dean replied and Sam gave him a look that got Matt to sigh.

"Look, we know. It won't be easy," the grey-eyed hunter stated. "But, that's what we gotta do."

"Matt's right. That's what we gotta do," Dean declared. "We can't let Lucifer free Death and we surely can't bring Jo and Ellen with us. So, maybe we can get them out of here with a, I don't know, a stretcher?"

"I'll see what we got," Sam nodded.

The moment he turned to go looking for some kind of stretcher, Jo's voice stopped him. "Stop." Sam, Dean and Matt turned to look at the young blonde. "Guys, stop." Ellen looked between the three men and her daughter, confused as to what Jo was doing. "Can we, uh, be realistic about this, please?" The three men walked over her, Matt glancing at Ellen who was looking up at him and the Winchester brothers with a look that saddened him. "Uh! I can't move my legs. I can't be moved. My guts are being held in by an ace bandage. We gotta—we gotta get our priorities straight here." Sam and Dean exchanged a look, both as worried at what she was going to say as the two other hunters. "Number one, I'm not going anywhere."

"Joanna Beth, you stop talking like that," Ellen began, only to be interrupted by her daughter.

"Mom. I can't fight. I can't walk. But I can do something. We got propane, wiring, rock salt, iron nails, everything we need."

"Everything we need?" Sam inquired while Matt and Dean looked away, already understanding what she meant.

"To build a bomb, Sam," Jo clarified for him.

"No. Jo, no," Dean sternly stated, his green eyes looking right into her brown eyes.

"You got another plan? Those are hellhounds out there, Dean," Jo replied before moving her gaze from him to Sam and Matt. "They've got all of our scents. Those bitches will never stop coming after you. We let the dogs in, you guys hit the roof, make a break for the building next over. I can wait here with my finger on the button, rip those mutts a new one. Or at least get you a few minutes' head start, anyway."

"No, I—I won't let you," Ellen chastised Jo, tears already filling her eyes.

"This is why we're here, right?" Jo told her mother who shook her head. "If I can get us a shot on the devil—Dean, we have to take it."

"No!" Ellen cried. She looked up at Dean who moved his gaze away. He was unable to look into Ellen's eyes. He knew it was his fault that her daughter was going to sacrifice herself. It was all on him. If he hadn't broken the first seal, then none of this would have happened. "That's not—"

"Mom," Jo said, causing her mother to return her attention to her. "This might literally be your last chance to treat me like an adult. Might wanna take it?" That comment only made Ellen start to cry harder. When she looked up at her daughter, her eyes were met by a smile full of bravery from her daughter.

"You heard her," Ellen said, trying to sound strong. "Get to work."

Sam, Dean and Matt immediately went to grab the necessary materials and assemble the bombs, filling them with nails and rock salt for shrapnel. They were all going through the motions, trying not to focus on the moans of pain that Jo would let out once in a while. Ellen didn't move from her spot, utterly unable to leave her daughter alone. For the first time, Ellen told her daughter things that the young woman had always wanted to know. These were stupid, meaningless anecdotes about her father, but not to Jo. To Jo, these anecdotes were beautiful. They made her smile like a kid and for a few seconds she forgot the aching pain of her ripped-open stomach. Ellen continued until she saw Matt finishing the last bomb while Sam and Dean worked on the wires to connect the bombs. Matt turned to look at the two women on the floor and Ellen gave him a sad smile. She saw him trying to return it before her daughter's weak voice spoke up.

"M-Matt." The young hunter walked over to her, he crouched down in front of the pale blonde. "Hey."

"Hey," he whispered back, his grey eyes gentle.

"You owe me a drink," she told him, a weak smile on her face.

"Do I?"

"Y-yeah. You said that I was soon gonna regret choosing that life and that I… I was gonna quit it, but here I am. Disappointed?" She attempted to chuckle but it only caused her to wince in pain. Matt quickly grabbed her free hand in his. He held it in his and smiled at her as he rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand.

"No. Just like everyone, I'm proud of you, Jo," he whispered to her. Ellen held back her sobbing as she saw how these words touched her daughter.

Some footsteps made Matt look up to see Sam standing over there. He cleared his throat as he gently let go of the young woman's hand and walked away. Ellen followed him with her eyes and then she stood up and went after him, leaving Sam to take Jo's hand in his as he started to say his own goodbyes.

When Dean finished stringing the wire to the button, he turned to see Matt and Ellen talking and hugging a few feet away from them while Sam was quietly holding Jo's hand in his. The green-eyed hunter took a deep breath and approached Jo, causing his little brother to look up at him. Sam's hazel eyes fell to the object in Dean's hands and he instantly understood what that meant. He squeezed Jo's hand, looked at her and gave her one of his gentle smiles. She smiled back and he took it as his cue for him to let go of her hand and just step back.

Once Sam was a couple of steps back, Dean crouched down next to Jo.

"Okay, this is it," he told her, his deep voice full of sorrow. "I'll see you on the other side. Probably sooner than later."

"Make it later," Jo smiled at him as she handed him the riffle that was laying along her right leg.

Dean took the weapon and put it away. He took Jo's hand and put the button connected to all the bombs in Jo's hand, but he didn't let go of her cold hand yet. He held her tiny hand in between his two hands and lifted his gaze up to her pale face. Suddenly, she looked even younger than ever before. She looked like a vulnerable kid and that made pain and guilt scratch him to blood from the inside. She was too young. She was too young and she was going to die because of him.

"You never said," Jo began in a little voice. "Kate… Did she know? Before… Before she left, did she know what you felt for her?" Dean didn't say anything as the ghost of a sad smile curved one corner of his lips up. It didn't go unnoticed by the young blonde as she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he murmured before taking his hands away from hers as he put them around her lower face.

He leaned towards her face and rested his lips on her forehead to give her a long kiss. This action only made her cry as she realized that it really was going to be the end for her.

When Dean pulled away, he stared at her for a moment as she did her best to give him a smile. Her smile was even weaker than the previous ones she had given, but still she gave it to him.

"Okay," he told himself as he grabbed the rifle and got up. He walked to stand beside his brother who had already put his bag over his shoulder and then he looked at Ellen and Matt as they came back next to them. Ellen sat down next to her daughter and Matt whose face looked defeated, shifted his gaze away, which was noticed by Sam who frowned before returning his gaze to the mother and daughter.

"Mom, no," Jo sobbed.

"Somebody's gotta let them in," Ellen replied. Sam looked over at Matt as he realized that this had to be what Ellen told him when they went to talk and hug apart from them just a few minutes ago. "Like you said, you're not moving. You got me, Jo. And you're right, this is important." Jo eventually nodded at her mother. "But I will not leave you here alone."

"Dean—" Sam began, looking at his brother as though expecting him to fix what was going to happen.

"Get going now, boys," Ellen firmly said.

"Ellen—" Dean tried, only to be cut off by the woman.

"I said go."

As Sam walked away, Dean glanced at Matt and saw him completely frozen on spot, his grey eyes glued to Ellen. He grabbed him by the arm and made him follow Sam before he walked after him.

"And Dean?" Ellen called after the green-eyed hunter who looked back. "Kick it in the ass. Don't miss."

Dean nodded and then turned, ready to continue walking, when he saw Matt standing still in front of him again. He propelled the young man forward, hurrying him to follow Sam who was already at the back of the store.

In less than a couple of minutes, the three hunters were outside. Sam ran across the fire escape, Dean and Matt right behind. As Sam went down the ladder, Dean urged Matt to do the same, and then he followed. They started to hurry down the alley when the hardware store exploded, freezing the three men. They spun around to stare at the burning store for a moment, the sacrifice of their friends was already weighing on them. In less than a day, they had gone through three losses and as painful as it was, they couldn't linger on it.

Not now.

Now, they had to stop the Devil.

* * *

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1983.**_

 _ **Lawrence, Kansas.**_

 _ **At the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.**_

Kate was suffocating. The grip around her neck was tight and strong, and her hands were losing their strength as she tried in vain to pry his shadowed hand away from her neck. Her vision began to fade and her legs stopped fidgeting as her body was ready to give up.

A muffled bang seemed to echo in the room, but she was too dizzy to be sure of it.

Then, she was suddenly dropped to the floor.

She immediately caught back her breath, coughing hard and loud.

Her eyes were tightly closed when she heard a familiar voice, but she couldn't make out what was being said as her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears.

With one hand against her thumping heart, she opened her bloodshot eyes and lifted them towards the Cleaner as it was now his shadowed back that faced her. She frowned in confusion as she saw him stepping away from her, but when she moved her gaze she froze in spot at what she spotted.

Or rather _who_ she spotted.

Mary Winchester was standing there in a simple pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved black jacket. Positioned in her hands and aiming at the Cleaner was a pistol. When Kate glanced down, she immediately spotted the bullet that had been shot at him and that had made him drop Kate. The Cleaner was a Guardian, and although Kate didn't know what could kill a Guardian, she now knew that bullet couldn't even harm them the slightest. The front of the bullet was squashed as though it had hit Superman.

"Mary Winchester, what a great honor it is to have you here," the Cleaner declared, stopping in the middle of the room.

"We met?" Mary asked, fixing at the Cleaner with a hard look that only a hunter could have.

"You are not supposed to be here," the Cleaner replied, ignoring her question.

"Yeah? Well, a little birdy told me to be here, and with some proper backup," she replied, tilting the weapon in her hands to illustrate her last point.

"Really?" The Cleaner inquired with a smirk as the shadow on his legs extended itself on the floor. Mary didn't notice as it crept towards her, but Kate saw movement in this mystic dark coat.

She was going to warn Mary when her brown eyes saw the transparent marble. It looked even more beautiful than in her memories of what Chronos had shown her. The little ball was full of swirling dark blue and purple smoke that seemed to have an ethereal glow. It was already hypnotizing the young woman, who slowly and quietly, started to crawl towards it. She brought up one hand, reaching out for the mystic object when Mary's yelp distracted her. She turned her head to see the blonde's pistol crashing against a wall before it fell on the floor.

"Unfortunately, Mary Winchester, you're not mine to take," the Cleaner told Mary as his shadow crept away from her now that he had disarmed her. "But, don't worry, your rueful end is coming soon. As for you, stranger of this world who dares giving lies about wanting to stop the Apocalypse," he turned to look down at Kate who immediately lifted her head to look up at him. She sat back on her legs and was now kneeling in front of him, her heart was pounding with a fear that sparkled in her brown eyes. "You should have stayed home."

Without wasting any time, he kicked Kate right in the middle of her chest, causing her to fall back. He approached her and rested one foot on top of her stomach. And, that was when something strange happened. The Guardian didn't put any pressure on her stomach. It puzzled Kate who looked up at him only to see the features of his face – or rather of the innocent he was possessing – wrinkle in a questioning way. For a moment, he seemed to have hundreds of questions running through his mind, then his look changed and it seemed as though he was looking right through her.

Kate had guessed that the Guardians were different and had powers unique to each. From there, she had quickly come to the conclusion that the Cleaner couldn't make someone say what was in their mind the way Chronos could. She understood that one could lie bluntly to the Cleaner, however the way he was looking at her right now and the way he didn't put any pressure on her stomach got her to wonder if he didn't have another power that could make him realize that she truly was here for an important mission.

Meanwhile, Mary went to grab the fire extinguisher that was hung right next to the door. She couldn't just stand there and let this weird creature kill the young woman who had saved her son earlier that day. Quickly, she went to hit the creature's back with it. It caused the Cleaner to take his foot away from Kate's stomach and to turn around to look at Mary who simply hit him again right in the face. Anger filled the Cleaner as he grabbed the extinguisher and threw it across the room with such force that it made a hole in the wall before crashing on the floor. He returned his attention to the blonde only to get punched right in the middle of the face by her. He grabbed her wrist and held her arm up as she punched his ribs with her free hand. While the impacts to his abdomen hurt her far more than they hurt him, she still gave a couple more punches in his ribs, not willing to give up even though her knuckles were quickly beginning to bruise. The Cleaner was starting to get annoyed with her and her feeble attempts to retaliate. Holding one of her arms up, he walked, giving Mary no other choice but to walk backward.

The brunette looked at them as she stood up after nearly stumbling. She quickly went to grab her knife that she dropped when the Cleaner strangled her.

She turned around, her eyes glancing from the marble that shone in his back to Mary's arm held up by the Cleaner. She tightened her fingers around her knife that she held at her side and shouted, "Leave her alone! It's Chronos who sent me here!"

The Cleaner froze on spot. Mary was still trying to break free from his tight grip and Kate was trying to find a way to take the marble that seemed to be anchored in the shadow that covered his back.

" _Chronos_?" The Cleaner gritted through the teeth of his meatsuit. He roughly threw Mary against a wall. Both her back and the back of her head hit the wall violently and she instantly cried in pain. The Cleaner turned around and looked at Kate with fury. "Why?"

"I've already told you. Because of the Apocalypse," Kate stammered in reply.

"No," he groaned, taking two steps towards. This time the brunette tried to be brave and not to move from her spot.

"Alright, that's not the only reason he sent me here. He also said that by sending me here I'd find out what brought me in this universe," she quickly replied as he watched her with a glare. "I'm not lying to you. I swear I'm not. I'm too scared to lie to you."

Mary pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked down at her knuckles. Blood was dripping from all the useless attacks she had thrown at the creature. She moved her blue eyes to the creature standing so imposingly in front of the brunette that she could barely see her. However, she could still properly hear her as she spoke to the creature. Mary noticed that Kate's voice sounded raspy; certainly due to the strangling she had to endure a few minutes ago.

"He told me that I'll find out what brought me to this universe by coming here. And, he's the one who told me that I had to take that mystic _marble_ of yours because it can help us stop the end of world. And, I know that taking that blue-ish marble thing from you would force you to disappear from this place and simply go back to the in-between world, but Chronos said it could save the world. Chronos – "

"Chronos is nothing but a selfish creature. That's all he's been since he met that _human_ ," The Cleaner interrupted her. "First, he became weak, and then he let those human's feelings corrupt him. To say that he –" The Guardian stopped himself when he noticed Kate glancing at something behind her.

The creature quickly whipped around, only to find Mary still sitting on the floor but staring up at him with her pistol that she had swiftly gotten back.

"Really? Haven't you learned yet that this is useless against me?"

"I know. But, by listening to her I figured out that she needed you to be distracted," Mary smirked up at him.

The Cleaner looked confused for a moment.

Then, he let out a heavy gasp.

He spun around and saw Kate holding his marble at the extremity of her knife's silver lame.

The second he turned to look at Mary, Kate had jabbed her knife into the marble with the hope to get it out of the shadow it was fixed in, and she had succeeded.

The Cleaner looked at the marble with wide eyes. He made one step towards Kate and she quickly took several steps back, her brown eyes never looking away from him as she saw the shadow fluttering on the body he was possessing.

The lights started to flicker in the room.

"You… You are mistaken," the Cleaner said in a weak voice. He took another step towards Kate and then all of sudden the body he was possessing dropped on the floor.

Kate and Mary watched as the shadow remained standing in the middle of the room. The entire shadow grew bigger, the black horns touched the ceiling and Mary's eyes went wide when she saw the hybrid shape of the creature.

Then, a gloomy blue light flashed in the room.

The two women turned their heads away and shut their eyes.

Three seconds later, a sudden gasp startled them both into opening their eyes.

The brown-haired man that the Cleaner had possessed was waking up. Mary immediately stood up and went to help him.

"What… Where am I?" He asked, utterly confused as he looked around him in panic.

Mary who was crouched next to him, made him sit up as she tried to calm him down. Kate looked at them for a moment before looking over at the empty bed that she knew was his. She looked over at the other people in bed. They hadn't moved an inch. She couldn't understand what was happening. Fifteen people were supposed to wake up. Not just one.

"Can you stand?" Mary asked the man, causing Kate to return her attention to them.

The brunette saw Mary trying to help the man up, and when she was going to give a hand, she realized that her knife was still in her hand. The marble was still impaled in its extremity. She hesitantly touched the marble with her fingertips, somehow afraid that it might hurt or burn her. It didn't do any harm to her, so she grabbed the solid object and took it off the knife. She watched it as some purple smoke escaped the slit made by the lame. Her brown eyes stared at the smoke as it suddenly vanished away. Not a second later, loud gasps echoed in the room, startling the two women. The confused man had no idea what hospital room they were in, so he only stared at the people with a bit more of confusion.

"W-what the hell?" Mary stammered, both confused and scared at what was happening.

Kate looked down at the marble, only to find the opened slit gone, as though there had been no knife jabbing at all. Without looking away from the marble, she slipped her knife in her jacket's inside pocket. Then, a thump caused Kate to lift her head and to see that Mary had dropped unconscious on the floor.

"Mary!" Kate shouted as she rushed to her sides. Kneeling next to the unmoving woman, she immediately searched for the pulse while the man stared at them with even more confusion and panic painted on his face. "Come on," she told herself, desperately trying to find the pulse while the room filled with a brouhaha of the now-awake people asking in panic where they were and what was happening.

The door slammed open and there stood a couple of nurses, completely agape at what they were seeing.

"Oh my God," one of them breathed out.

"Help me!" Kate shouted at the two nurses who drifted their gazes to her. "I can't find her pulse, I-I…"

"Warn Dr Quentin and bring as many people as possible," one of the nurses told the other who immediately ran off. The one remaining quickly made her way to Kate and Mary, however her eyes kept on glancing at the man beside them. Just this morning, she had given him his wash and had had shaved his week-long beard. "Alright, um, let me do," she told Kate, who put her hands away from Mary.

"She can't be dead… She-she can't. Not now. Not because of me," Kate started to sob in panic. All she could think of was what it would do to Sam and Dean if their mother died tonight instead of in a couple of days. "It can't happen," Kate cried while the nurse pushed Mary's hair away to put her fingers at the base of her neck. "No, I stole from the Cleaner like they said I would and I-I… They woke up, all of them, they woke up… Please, she can't die because of me."

* * *

 _ **September 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Carthage, Missouri.**_

Sam, Dean and Matt sneaked through the bushes, doing their best to keep as quiet as possible, but also as focused as possible. Ellen and Jo's death was still echoing in the back of their minds, but they couldn't let it distract them from what they came here for. Dean was now more determined than ever to kill the Devil and the two other hunters were ready to give him as much help as needed. When Dean stopped, Sam and Matt did as well. They looked over at what the elder hunter was looking and they saw dozens of men standing in the field they had been looking for the past few minutes or so.

"Guess we know what happened to some of the townspeople," Dean remarked, causing Matt to glance at him before returning his blueish grey eyes to the men standing there. He couldn't help but wonder where were the rest of the townspeople.

"Okay," Sam said, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

"Okay," Dean repeated.

"Last words?" Sam asked and Matt slightly frowned while Dean turned to look at him and then to his little brother for a moment.

There were thousand things that Dean wanted to say. He wanted to apologize to Matt for acting so rough and hard on that young man who never really did anything wrong. He wanted to apologize for not insisting more on Ellen and Jo to stay back at Bobby's. But above all else, he wanted to tell Sam how proud he was of him. He wanted to tell him these three words that he never was able to say ever since their mother's death. But, he knew that he didn't have to. He knew that Sam already knew all of that.

"I think I'm good," Dean finally declared.

Sam looked at him and then returned his gaze to the field as he said, "Yeah. Me too... Matt?"

Matt simply shook his head, his gaze glued to the field. Sam and Dean glanced at him before they looked at each other again.

"Alright," Dean nodded. "Here goes nothing."

They did as they planned when looking for the farm. With his shotgun in hand, Sam went through the crowd of people on his own while Matt stayed in the bushes with his own shotgun held up and ready to fire if one of the persons tried to attack Sam. As for Dean, he quietly went another way in order to reach the man who was filling a hole with a shovel. It wasn't any man. As a matter of fact, it wasn't even a man. It was Lucifer.

"Hey!" Sam shouted, causing the Fallen Angel to turn. When he saw Sam aiming his gun at him, he instantly dropped the shovel. "You wanted to see me?"

"Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here," Lucifer told him as a smirk formed on his lips. "You know I'd never hurt you. Not really."

"Yeah?" A deep voice said beside the Devil who turned his head, only to find Dean Winchester standing just a foot away and aiming the Colt at him. "Well, _I_ 'd hurt you," he continued before aiming the gun at Lucifer's forehead. "So suck it," Dean told him before firing.

Lucifer immediately collapsed to the ground. Sam and Dean looked down at the body for a moment before they looked at each other. Dean had just shot the Devil in the head and yet the seemingly possessed men standing in the field did absolutely nothing. They remained still. Sam and Dean went back to look at Lucifer when this latter suddenly inhaled and shifted position.

"Ow…" the Devil moaned before standing up in front of the two shocked brothers. "Where did you get that?" He asked, turning to Dean who was as shocked as Matt who was still hiding in the bushes. Lucifer didn't wait for Dean's reply – he didn't care about it – he simply punched him, sending him flying into a tree.

Matt and Sam watched as Dean hit the tree violently and then landed hard on the ground. Matt quickly went for him, pulling Lucifer's attention to him.

"Oh wait, you brought a newbie with you?" Lucifer chuckled as he saw Matt checking Dean's pulse. The dark-haired hunter turned to look at Sam and gave him a nod that indicated him that Dean was just knocked out. As Lucifer saw relief wash over Sam, he clenched his jaw and then looked over at Matt. He teleported himself in front of him and Matt immediately stood up. "I don't like newbies."

Lucifer smiled to him and then he made a spinning movement with his hand and right then Matt's left wrist turned and broke, causing him to scream in pain. Matt fell onto his knees, crying in pain as he held his arm against his chest. Lucifer bent down and put one hand over Matt's hand before tearing it from his arm. The piercing scream that left the man's mouth chilled Sam to his very core.

"No!" Sam shouted, horrified as he saw Lucifer carrying the bloody hand as he went back to where his shovel was.

"I don't like newbies, but they can be so useful," Lucifer said, tossing the hand in the dirt. He turned to Sam, "Now, where were we?" Sam stared at him with anger and he could still hear Matt's cries of pain, though they were getting less and less loud. "It's about the Colt, isn't it? Well, don't feel too bad, Sam. There's only five things in all of creation that that gun can't kill, and I just happen to be one of them. But if you give me a minute, I'm almost done, thanks to your friend giving me a hand," he lightly chuckled at his own pun and then went to pick up the shovel and started to move more dirt into the pit in which he threw Matt's hand.

Sam glanced at him before hurrying over to Matt. He quickly pulled a kerchief out his pocket and grabbed Matt's arm. The dark-haired hunter was half-covered with his own blood and when he lifted his head, Sam saw that he was paler than ever. Sam quickly and tightly wrapped the kerchief around Matt's forearm to stop the bleeding.

"You know, I don't suppose you'd just say yes here and now?" Lucifer said when Sam finished tightening the knot of the kerchief. He looked at Matt who kept moaning in pain and then glanced over at his unconscious brother. He swallowed down and stood up. He turned to face the Devil. "End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"

"It's never gonna happen!" Sam shouted.

Lucifer simply shrugged as he went back to filling his hole, "Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will. I think it'll happen soon. Within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit."

"You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!" Sam shouted at him, anger filling his voice and his eyes.

"That's good, Sam," Lucifer commented with a smile. "You keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it. And, then maybe I won't make your pretty, little Katie help me win. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll get her to help me, and I know she won't refuse."

Sam's heavy breath of rage suddenly started to calm.

Lucifer had no idea that Kate was no longer here, and to know that therefore he wouldn't be able to harm her brought some relief to Sam. It went beyond that fact. The mention of Kate reminded Sam all of sudden that she was back to her safe universe. She was back to her normal and safe life, and no angel or demon or any other kind of creature would get to her anymore. She deserved it. She had done so much for them. She had saved them more than once and in more than one way. She deserved to be saved from their dark world. The thought of what she would be able to do from now and what she would be able to become from now, brought a bit of unexplained calm to Sam.

The younger Winchester shifted his gaze from Lucifer to the crowd of men who never moved once. He asked, "What did you do? What did you do to this town?"

"Oh, I was very generous with this town," Lucifer replied, throwing a glance at the younger Winchester. "One demon for every able-bodied man."

"And the rest of them?"

Lucifer paused from what he was doing. He nodded at the hole and said, "In there. I know, it's awful, but these horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucifer dropped the shovel and turned to Sam who never looked away from him. "I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I _begged_ him to stand with me, and Michael… Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A _monster_." Sam was unable to say or think anything as he listened to what the Devil was telling him. "And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar?"

Sam's eyes were filled with tears because, of course it sounded familiar to him. But he would never let this resemblance make him have some sympathy for the Devil.

"Anyway," Lucifer continued. "You'll have to excuse me. Midnight is calling and I have a ritual to finish. See, I was almost going to have to cut my own hand to put it in the hole to replace the hand lacking from one of the townspeople if your nice friend hadn't been there to give me his. Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure this ritual doesn't need full and intact bodies, as long as there are souls, but you know what they say. Better safe than sorry. Anyways, don't go anywhere. Not that you could if you would."

Sam wouldn't have moved if Matt's weak voice didn't call him. Sam turned to look down at him and saw that the badly injured man was trying to carry Dean while Lucifer made his demons chant. When Sam started to pull Dean up, this latter stirred and opened his eyes.

"We offer up our lives, blood, souls," the demons chanted after the Devil told them to repeat his words.

"To complete this tribute," Lucifer finished.

"To complete this tribute," the demons chanted while Dean glanced back and forth at the demons and at Matt's injury.

One by one, the demons started to flash gold and fall over dead and the three hunters could only watch in horror. Sam glanced over at Lucifer, not understanding how he would kill those who served them.

"What? They're just demons," Lucifer stated as his gaze met Sam's. The Fallen Angel then turned his attention back to the mass grave as the ground started to tremble. A wide smirk appeared on his lips and when he turned to look at the three hunters, he was almost surprised to see them gone. But, he didn't care and just went on carrying out his plan. He walked forward to the hole and started to smile at what he saw coming out of it.

"Oh, hello Death," Lucifer said, grinning.

* * *

** SPN **

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1983.**_

 _ **Lawrence, Kansas.**_

 _ **At the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.**_

Whether in this universe or back in hers, Kate had never seen this many nurses, interns, doctors and other specialists in white coats running around in so much panic in a hospital corridor.

Truth be told, she had never seen this many nurses, interns, doctors and other specialists in white coats throwing her that many weird looks either.

But, on the other hand, it was to be expected. After all, she was the federal agent who was found in the room where the 'Halloween miracle' happened like the entire hospital staff said so well. There was no better way to call the awaking of fifteen people who had been in a coma for at least five years, and Kate hadn't argued with that. As a matter of fact, all she did was flash to everyone her fake FBI badge that was inside one of her jacket's pocket. Not only did it give her the chance to avoid getting asked too many questions about the miracle that occurred in that hospital room, but it also gave her a good justification for the presence of a shotgun next to the unconscious Mary.

Nevertheless, some of the hospital staff still tried asking her questions about her and Mary's presence in the room while it was past visit times, about the fact that one of the patient was out of his bed, and also, or rather especially, about what she might have witnessed and that could have awakened all these comatose people.

Kate had done what she thought the smartest thing to do and replied that she was in a top secret mission that prevented her from replying to their questions.

Surely this excuse got the hospital staff to talk more, but at least these conversations were among them and Kate wasn't bothered anymore by their questions – or at least not as much as at first.

The only time Kate wasn't asked any questions about what happened in the room was when a middle-aged nurse took care of the bruises around her neck. Sure, the nurse had given the young brunette a curious look, but she didn't ask her anything aside from medical questions about the bruises around her neck and the redness of her eyes. It was obvious for Kate that the nurse had figured out on her own that the young woman had been choked by a strong gripping around her neck, but no question about the strangler was asked.

However, it wasn't because this nurse didn't bother her with a thousand questions that Kate stayed quiet as well.

After Kate was told that Mary had just passed out, the blonde-haired woman had been taken away to a room to be checked on and taken care of. From that moment, Kate had shown her impatience to go at the woman's sides. The brunette was worried for Mary as this latter got more into a fight with the Cleaner than she did.

Once, the middle-aged nurse had finished taking care of her bruised neck, Kate hurriedly went to wait for Mary who was getting checked on by a doctor. The brunette was deeply worried for Sam and Dean's mother. It could sound like a waste of time to worry for a woman whose days were numbered, but Kate couldn't help herself. The thing was that she couldn't even explain it to herself. She just wanted this woman to be saved, and not just tonight, but also on that November 2nd. She was aware that it was impossible for her to change Mary's tragic fate, but she couldn't help wishing that she could.

Sitting on a chair outside the room Mary was in, Kate tried to look as tough as a federal agent should look whenever a member of the hospital staff would pass by. She did her best not to bit on her bottom lip because she knew that it would make her look way too worried and she didn't want that expression to settle on her face. If the hospital staff caught a glimpse of worry in her features, they would just use it as an excuse to approach her and bombard her with questions. She preferred to have them sending her weird looks than having to answer a thousand questions that she couldn't answer without getting sent to a mental institution.

After a few minutes, she overheard a conversation about the corridor leading to the room in which the 'Halloween miracle' happened. Apparently, the security cameras of that corridor and of that room recorded absolutely nothing from seven pm to now. Kate couldn't help but wonder if it was due to that erasing Matt told her about. She could hear his voice echoing in the back of her head.

" _Apparently, it's an unofficial rule for Heaven to destroy every trace or memory of any huge event that involves the Guardians."_

But, if Heaven destroyed every trace or memory of these kind of incidents, shouldn't she have instantly forgotten what happened? What if Mary already forgot her encounter with the Cleaner? Would that mean that Kate would pass out as well in order to forget what happened?

Kate let out a long sigh. She was overthinking the whole situation and making up theories that would only turn everything messier than it already was.

Raking her upper teeth on her bottom lip, she looked down at her hands and unclenched her right fist to look at the mystic, spherical object. The marble was in her possession.

She had completed her mission.

Yet, she still hadn't find out what was the reason for her presence in this universe.

A few reasons got her to be quite certain that Mary Winchester was involved, however she wasn't sure of the exact way this woman was involved in her traveling-through-dimensions situation. But, that encounter with the Cleaner caused doubts to creep into her mind.

After all, the Cleaner said it himself: Mary wasn't supposed to be there. But, there was no denying the fact that Mary was in the records that Matt had shown to Kate. So, maybe Kate was only overthinking the Cleaner's choice of words.

Everything that was supposed to happen did happen. Sadly, this thought didn't bring any kind of comfort to the brunette.

On the contrary, this thought hit Kate with a deeper and grimmer realization as to what was happening.

She was letting Zachariah's words come true.

" _You have no idea what the future holds for you. It's magnificent and dreadful. You will have to make choices that will tear you apart, you will lose people dear to your heart, and you will play the role I want you to play. And it all started in 1983."_

These words no longer confused her as much as they should. They frightened her now. She felt utterly helpless against these prophetic words and only prayed for them not to be fulfilled. But, it seemed that the more time passed and the more it all seemed unavoidable.

Feeling a lump of frustration forming in her throat, Kate took a deep breath and shook her head. She looked up to see a couple of nurses staring at her before quickly looking away when she kept the eye contact with them. Once she saw them enter one of the many rooms in which the former comatose people were being checked by a good number of doctors and specialists, she returned her brown eyes to the marble in the palm of her hand. She swiftly slipped it in one of her jacket's pockets and slightly froze when her fingers felt something else.

She pulled her hand out of her pocket, a folded paper in between her fingertips. She looked at it, a sorrowful feeling immediately appearing inside of her as she knew what that folded paper was. Still, she unfolded it and swallowed down when she looked at the drawing.

The innocent freckled face of the four-year-old Dean flashed in her mind. Quickly followed the chubby face of the six-month-old baby Sam.

Inevitably then, her mind started to fill with memories of their grown-up versions. At first, it was their laughter that echoed and their smiles that shone, but within a couple of seconds all she could see was their hurting faces and their invisible scars. The way their eyes told her the thousands sorrows and pains they went through. The way they tightened their grips around her when she hugged them, quietly telling her that they craved for a love, a comfort and a peace that was all ripped away from them too soon and too violently.

Kate's sight started to get blurry as her brown eyes filled with tears. She lifted her head to see that the corridor was entirely empty. Tears started to slide down her cheeks and she quickly rubbed them away with the back of her hand. She tried to calm herself down by taking deeper breaths. She stood up, folded the paper and shoved it back inside the pocket and then ran her hands in her hair before gripping at the base of her ponytail. She stayed in that position for a moment, her eyes fixing at the white door of the room in which Mary Winchester was. All that she could think of was that Dean may have been wrong after all.

Maybe everything _was_ set in stone.

Their mother's death.

Their destiny as angels' vessels for the Apocalypse.

And, her destiny of having to make tearful choices, to lose precious people and to play the part Zachariah always wanted her to.

Maybe everything was set in stone and it was all set in stone in 1983.

* * *

 _ **October 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota.**_

 _ **At Bobby Singer's.**_

Sam was sitting on the edge of his little bed when he finished reading one of Kate's notebooks. He had already read the one filled with notes about supernatural creatures and how to get rid of them, and he had already read the one with notes about the Apocalypse and the Seals several times. But, he had never read this notebook that gathered all her researches and questions about her arrival to their universe. He had seen her writing in it more than once and he had even glanced at it whenever she wasn't sure of the spelling of a word she had written down. But, he had never read this notebook before. Not that he wasn't interested in what was written in it. He just never really had the occasion to read it.

However, now that over a week had passed since the brunette left their world, he felt the need to read that notebook, in hope that it would somehow help him feel better. As though Kate's departure hadn't been hard enough, the mission in Carthage had been a terrible failure that kept him awake for hours every night since then. Even after all these days, Ellen and Jo's death was still hard for him to swallow and having to see Matt's new disability everyday was only clenching up his stomach in other knots of guilt.

Sam knew that Kate would have found the right words to make him feel a bit better. He knew that she would have found the right words to make him feel less guilty about what happened in Carthage. He knew that she would have found the right words to give him the strength to keep on fighting.

But, she was gone.

Sam knew that he should feel happy for her return to her safe universe, but he couldn't help feeling a hole inside of him instead.

A hole that he wanted to fill.

A hole that he believed her notebook would help filling.

But, the truth was that reading that notebook only deepened that hole.

He missed her.

There was no better way to put it. He simply missed his friend. He missed her silly jokes. He missed her intelligent remarks. He missed her funny stories. He missed her optimistic pep-talks. He missed her solid support. He missed her soft smiles. He missed her heartfelt hugs. He missed her genuine and warm friendship.

He missed her.

There was a hole inside of him that he couldn't fill and the walls of that hole were constantly and painfully getting scratched by the guilt of Ellen and Jo's death and by the guilt of seeing Matt's amputated left hand.

Sam saw a drop of water fall down on the cover of the notebook he was holding in his hands. He frowned in confusion before touching his cheek with one hand and realizing that he was crying. He slid his hand up and ran it through his hair. His fingers clenched at the roots of his brown hair as he started to cry harder.

It was all his fault.

 _ **No, it's not.**_

If he hadn't listened to a demon instead of his brother, then Lucifer would still be in his Cage.

 _ **No, the angels had planned it all. One way or another they would have made you free Lucifer.**_

Then, what's the point in doing all that?

 _ **The point is not to give up. The point is to keep on fighting.**_

How to keep on fighting in a losing battle?

 _ **It's only a losing battle if you give up. So, don't give up, Sam. Don't give up. Do all you can to save this world.**_

But, this world is already dying. So, what to fight for?

 _ **Fight for your big brother. Fight for him and fight alongside him. Because that's what it's always been and what it will always be. You and him, together against the world, but also**_ **for** _ **the world, right?**_

Sam opened his eyes as he suddenly stopped crying. His fingers unclenched around his hair and he slowly took his hand away from his hair. He sniffled, looking down at the notebook he was holding while his free hand wiped his tears away from his dimpled cheeks.

A little smile appeared on his lips as he nodded at himself.

"Right," he whispered to himself before standing up.

He walked out of the little room he very often used as his own bedroom at Bobby's and made his way to the room that belonged to Kate when she was still there.

When he opened the door, he didn't even make two steps in before abruptly stopping. His hazel gaze had immediately landed on the man sitting on a pile of boxes right across the bed; his older brother.

Dean's green eyes were glued to the bed, on which the brunette's bag remained untouched since the day of her sudden departure. Seeing as Dean didn't move an inch, Sam began to wonder if he had even heard him coming in the room.

"How long have you been in here?" Sam inquired in a little voice. Dean remained quiet and still, so Sam didn't insist as he glanced down at the notebook in his hand. He walked towards the bed and gently put the notebook on the nightstand bed.

"You found something interesting?" Dean asked, causing Sam to look over at him, only to see Dean's eyes already going back to staring at the bed with an emotionless face.

"Um, nothing new," Sam simply replied.

He knew that Dean had already read that notebook back when he was sick during the wannabe witches case in Kansas City. And, even though Kate had written down a few new things since the time Dean read it, Sam believed that there was nothing that needed to be mentioned to him or anyone else for that matter. Kate had written a few new notes about Chronos, the Cleaner and the seemingly importance of blood, but nothing that really needed to be told. Besides, these notes were basically just keywords and Kate was now safe and sound in her universe, so it wasn't like talking about these notes would change something.

When Sam moved his eyes down to Dean's hands, he realized that his brother wasn't completely still. His fingers seemed to be playing with something. It took only a short second for Sam to recognize the object in between his brother's fingers.

"Is that a hair-tie?" Sam asked him, slightly frowning. Dean didn't say anything, but his fingers instantly stopped moving. "It's… It's Katie's, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and so?" Dean snapped at his little brother, looking up at him with an almost glare. "She fuckin' left with mom's ring, so I think I got the right to keep that fuckin' hair-tie. It's not like I stole it from her stuff. She slid it up my wrist a month ago when she was trying to make those fuckin' braids." Dean stood up, almost knocking the chair behind him. He looked down at the hair-tie in his hand and muttered, "Besides, it's not like she's gonna want it back."

Sam stayed quiet as he watched his brother throwing a glance at him before walking out of the room.

Sam knew that his brother was going through a hard time; they all were going through a hard time ever since Carthage. And, the truth was that staying at Bobby's had helped none of them. Matt had left for a day or two, but other than that, Matt, Sam and Dean all stayed at Bobby's for the time of their grieving. And, Sam was realizing only now that it wasn't going to help them grieve and move on.

They had to go back onto hunting and fighting to stop the Apocalypse.

But, even though this appeared evident for Sam now, the younger Winchester still knew that he couldn't rush their grieving. The thing was that whenever Sam looked at his brother, the guilt intensified inside of him. He had never wished this much for something to give him the power to take all these negative and hurtful feelings away from Dean. But, Sam had learned over time that as long as Dean didn't open himself about his pain, there was no way to comfort him.

Sam felt helpless.

He always did when it came to the way Dean coped with his feelings.

And yet, the way Dean always buried all his pain and grief deep inside of him wasn't foreign to Sam. It happened to Sam to do the same kind of burying. But, the fact that it wasn't as usual and common as Dean made Sam believe that it also wasn't as unhealthy.

However, lately it seemed that Dean's way of coping with his feelings wasn't enough for him to keep on going. Indeed, these past few days were filled with times when the green-eyed man wasn't as subtle as he wanted to when burying his pain. There were times when Sam noticed that Dean had lost all the hope that made him keep going these past months.

Sam had noticed the way Dean's behaviour changed when Matt, Sam or Bobby mentioned one of the three women that went away that tragic day of September. Dean's pain expressed itself in semi-crisis of anger or in his utter silence. No matter how Dean let it out, it was always accompanied with a good dose of alcohol. It slowly occurred to Sam that Dean had gone back into drinking as much as when he got out of Hell.

As desperate as Sam was to help his brother, he knew that he had to wait for him to grieve first. It would certainly take a couple of days or maybe even another week.

But, Sam wouldn't give up.

" _Trust me, all Dean needs is you. As long as you are by his side, nothing else matters, Sam. Nothing and no one else,"_ Kate had told Sam the night before she left to her world without a goodbye.

Sam didn't wholly believe these words of hers when she first said it to him.

The thing was that Sam had noticed an uncountable number of things that Dean did and that proved to the younger Winchester that his brother had learned to let someone become almost as important as his own family. Sam had noticed an uncountable number of things that proved him how much Dean had come to care for this impossible girl, and surely that made Sam unable to believe her words. But, now that she was gone, Sam realized that her words could be true now. And, if her words were true now, if all Dean needed was for his little brother to be by his side, then that was what Sam would do.

Sam wouldn't let anything or anyone come between him and his brother this time around.

Sam wouldn't let anything or anyone make him disappoint his brother.

Sam wouldn't let anything or anyone make him a freak to his brother.

And, above all else, Sam wouldn't let anything or anyone make him give up on his brother.

Not even destiny.

 _No_.

Nothing would make him give up on his brother.

* * *

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1983.**_

 _ **Lawrence, Kansas.**_

 _ **At the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.**_

When the doctor checking on Mary Winchester left the room to go get a couple of documents, Kate went in there to see the woman. The room was a typical stark and sterilized white consulting room with a black desk and two chairs on the left and a hospital bed on the right. Mary was sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs hanging in the air, one hand on her belly and the other on her lap. Her blue eyes were glued to the opposite wall, seemingly lost in her thoughts to the point of not noticing Kate standing in the doorway. Her long, blonde, wavy hair fell over her shoulders and hided half of her delicate and beautiful profile. There was a softness that emitted from her. But, when Kate's eyes travelled lower to Mary's clutched hand laying on her lap, the brunette was instantly hit with realization. That softness was accompanied with an undesired hardness; a hardness that Mary had been trying to tear off herself for. Mary's bandaged hand clutching on top of her lap reminded Kate of who Mary Winchester was.

She was a mother who had run away from the hunting world, only to be pulled back into it by a stranger.

Kate looked away, a lump of guilt forming in her throat when noise coming from the corridor made Mary look over at her.

The instant their gazes met, Kate's breath caught in her throat. The sparkles of joy and happiness that filled her blue eyes earlier that day, were nowhere to be found. Instead, Kate saw severity in these blue orbs.

"Can you close the door?" Mary asked, her voice little yet stern. Kate didn't say anything as she turned to close the door. She remained facing the door for a few seconds filled with silence. "I have a few questions to ask you, so please turn around and look at me." Kate bit down on her lip and slowly turned. Her heartbeats seemed to get faster as she looked at the woman who looked at her with the look of a hunter. "What's your name? Your full name."

"Kaitlin Anderson," the brunette answered in almost a whisper.

"Alright. Where are you from?"

"I was born in Texas, Dallas," Kate whispered, but Mary still heard her.

"Those things you said to that creature… Were they true? Is it really the end?"

"They were true, but just not yet…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mary frowned.

"It's… It's complicated."

"I risked my life to save yours. I don't care if it's complicated. Tell me."

Kate bit down on her lip, wondering how to explain this to the woman. "It means that the, um, well the Apocalypse is gonna happen. And this marble I stole from that creature, it's gonna help stop the Apocalypse in the future."

"In the future?" Mary repeated, staring at Kate with raised eyebrows.

"I know it sounds completely crazy, but you gotta trust me, Mary," Kate nearly pleaded her.

"That's exactly the problem, Kate," Mary replied, her blue eyes softening. "I trust you. I don't know you, and yet I trust you. And, you know what's the weirdest part of it all? I don't trust you because you saved my son or because you're a hunter, but because of what you said." Kate frowned in confusion. "How my sons are the most amazing boys and how I can be proud of them… You said those words as though you really meant them and as though… As though you knew my boys, somehow, and – _wait_ ," Mary cut herself off, shaking her head as a frown formed on her face. "When that creature said that you were a stranger of this world, it meant that… You're from the future, aren't you?"

"From the future and from another dimension," Kate clarified, only puzzling Mary even more. "I was pulled from a parallel universe into this universe, but in the future."

"I… _What_?"

"I was born in April 1984 in another world that looks like this world, but is still quite different from this world. And in October 2008, I was pulled from my universe to this universe," Kate explained as Mary listened attentively. "And, in 2009, after I've spent almost a year in this universe, I was sent in time and space. And, that's how I ended up in your neighbourhood today."

"Why… Why were you sent to my neighbourhood?" Mary asked, confusion echoing in her voice.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Kate replied with a light shrug. "All I know is that my mission was to get that marble thing," she pulled the mystic marble out of her pocket and held it on her palm. "By completing this mission, I'm supposed to find out what pulled me from my universe into this one, but so far it's still a mystery."

With her blue eyes fixing at the marble, Mary hoped off the bed and approached the brunette. It was obvious that Mary was as hypnotized by the mystic object the same way Kate was the first times her eyes settled on it. Kate kept her hand out, displaying the marble for the blonde-haired woman, when the door suddenly opened behind them.

"I'm sorry, I've taken long, Mrs Winchester," the doctor declared, stepping in the room and causing Kate to snap her fingers closed on the mystic object. Mary quickly glanced up at Kate before the two women looked over at the doctor who was holding a few documents.

"I'm gonna wait outside—" Kate began.

"Oh no, don't bother yourself, agent. I just have to give a couple of documents to Mrs Winchester," the doctor stated, beginning to hand out a couple of papers for the blonde when he accidentally dropped the rest of the papers on the floor. "Oh fudge!" The two women crouched down to help him gather the papers. "Oh, thank you," he smiled up at them. "Oh, by the way, Mrs Winchester, I checked and I can assure you that these painkillers I prescribed you have no harm for your pregnancy."

Kate abruptly dropped the papers that she had gathered in her hands. It caused one of her fingertips to get a paper-cut. But, she didn't even feel the itchy pain of it just like she didn't even hear when a nurse knocked on the door and asked for the doctor to come and check something. And, she didn't even see the doctor standing up and leaving. She didn't even hear Mary when this latter, standing up, asked her if she was alright.

All Kate could feel was her steady heartbeats in her chest.

"You're…" Kate whispered as she slowly stood up, almost losing her balance on the solid and constant floor beneath her feet. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes," Mary nodded. She frowned at Kate's pale face. "You're okay?"

Kate remained speechless. Her brown eyes staring at Mary with a shock that the blonde could see, but wasn't sure what to think of. Kate was so shocked that her mind was blank of any thought. She didn't even react when she lost her grip around the marble, dropping it to the floor in a deaf thump.

Mary glanced down at the object and then returned her blue gaze to Kate's face. Although completely confused and concerned by what suddenly happened to the brunette, Mary went to pick the marble up. Her concern for the young brown head had even prevented her from getting hypnotized by the object. She handed the object to Kate, but when this latter remained still, Mary grabbed her hand and put it inside of her hand before closing the fingers around it.

"I... That's not what I was supposed to find out…" Kate murmured, stepping back and shaking her head. "I wasn't sent here for this," Kate started to speak louder as she felt the umpteenth lump of the day form in her throat. "I-I wasn't sent here t-to see Sam as a baby and to see Dean in a freakin' cowboy costume! I wasn't sent here to hear you sing that Beatles song to Sam or to see how excited Dean is to see his father coming home! I-I wasn't supposed to witness any of that! I wasn't supposed to see how happy y-you..." Kate was now crying as Mary watched her with puzzlement. Kate looked down at the marble in her hand and held it up. "I was just supposed to get this thing and find out what brought me to this freakin' universe! That's all I was supposed to freakin' find out! How the _fuck_ I got in here?! What possible events could have happened to bring me to this universe!" Kate slapped her other hand on the marble and suddenly flinched.

She immediately pulled her hand away and looked at her fingertip that was hurting her as though it had been burnt.

She looked at the tiny bleeding paper-cut on her fingertip and frowned as she saw it closing before her eyes.

"What is it doing?" Mary asked, causing Kate to look up at her. Her gaze followed the blonde's eyes and landed on the object that she was still holding in her other hand.

The dark blue and purple smoke on the inside of the marble was swirling faster and faster.

"I… I don't know," Kate mumbled, flattening her hand so that the marble could lay on her palm.

Their eyes widened when the smoke started to spin out of the marble, going up to the ceiling like a little, dark whirlwind.

The growling of a thunder echoed from outside. The two women whipped their heads at the window to see a lightening flashing in the distance as the rain started to pour.

Then, the floor started to shake very slightly.

The women looked at each other for a second before returning their attention to the little, dark whirlwind above them.

But, the little, dark whirlwind wasn't a whirlwind anymore.

"Oh God," Kate let out as she recognized the new shape this whirlwind took.

With their eyes glued to the ceiling, Mary grabbed Kate's arm and pulled at it. "We better go!"

But, they didn't even have time to make one step away before they got sucked up into the dark, round hole.

Then, everything was just black.

* * *

"Kate!" The voice seemed to come from afar, but not that much. "Kate, wake up!" The voice sounded familiar, but not that much. "Kate!" The voice insisted, causing the asleep brunette's face to scrunch. "Come on, Kate!" The brunette felt a pair of hands holding on her shoulders and shaking her.

However, it was when she felt something tickling her face that she started to wake up.

She blinked a few times before fully opening her brown eyes. The grey sky was the first thing that she saw before she squinted her eyes up at the raindrops falling over her face.

She shifted her gaze to the woman kneeling by her side as the rain started to pour harder, wetting their hair and drenching their clothes completely.

"Mary," Kate started as she sat up, looking at the fearful expression on the blonde's face. "You're okay?"

Mary shook her head 'no'.

"Something wrong happened," the blue-eyed woman eventually said. "Something really _wrong_."

Kate looked around her and realized that they were in the middle of a parking lot. She looked at the cars and then started to stand up when she felt the marble inside her right hand. She opened her fist and looked down at the marble. It looked the way it looked when she first got it from the Cleaner. The smoke was back into slowly swirling inside of it.

"Kate, we were in a hospital room and then that dark hole, it-it sucked us in," Mary was saying when Kate slipped the marble in her jacket pocket. "And, now look around us! It's impossible, I know it's impossible," she continued as she helped Kate up. "But, it's not just the cars!" Mary continued once they were standing on their feet. Mary turned the brunette in a sharp movement. "Look!"

Mary pointed at a billboard.

 _ **Halloween 2008 coming and the Financial Crisis still here!**_

"We're in the future," Kate murmured thoughtfully as she stared at the billboard.

Mary looked at the brunette, "Why are _we_ in the future? More exactly why am _I_ in the future? Shouldn't you be the only one brought back here?"

"I-I don't know," Kate stuttered before turning to Mary. "I don't come from 2008. I mean, when I was sent to 1983, I wasn't in 2008. I was in 2009."

"Then, what are we doing here?" Mary half-shouted over the thunder as the rain kept on pouring more wildly on them.

Kate watched the panicking woman. She had no idea of what to say to her because she simply had no idea of what they were doing in 2008. She opened her mouth to attempt reassuring her when something over Mary's shoulders drawn the brunette's attention.

Her eyes squinted and her eyebrows frowned as she looked at the few people walking out of one of the three buildings surrounding the parking lot.

"God," Kate breathed out, making two slow steps by Mary's side to get a better look at the people walking towards their cars with their umbrellas. Her brown eyes followed the two persons running with a newspaper on top of their heads. She couldn't believe it. "This is…"

"What?" Mary asked, puzzled.

"We're not just in 2008," Kate replied, her eyes glued to the two persons that arrived by a car and chatted there. "We're in 2008, in my universe. A few days before I was pulled to your universe."

* * *

 **Author's note** :

 **Before telling you a few important points about this chapter and the next one, I want to sincerely apologize for taking this long to update. Truth be told, life has been crazier than ever since my last update. In between all the vagaries of everyday life, I had to make sure to go to university, study for my exams, work at my part-time job and prepare the holidays with my family... It was just the craziest and busiest December of my life!**

 **I hope to get back on updating more frequently very soon, so please don't give up on me and my little story!**

 **So the important points about this chapter:**

 **Mary is NOT pregnant of Kate or of any version of Kate. So, please don't think that the fact that Dean feels that peace with Kate or that Mary trusts Kate this easily is due to that. You can think (or not) of any other theories but this one!**

 **I know that the way I wrote both Matt and Mary in this chapter can seem a bit irregular as they seem different from one section to another, but the thing is that I tried (and maybe failed…) to show that some situations can lead one to react so differently that their personality seems to be different. I'm gonna try to make it short, but basically when Mary first realizes that Kate isn't an ordinary young woman, she automatically becomes suspicious of the brunette and that brings out the leftovers of the hunter that she used to be. She just wants to protect her new life. As for Matt, he tries to get Dean back on track because he knows that's the only way for him to believe that they can all make it through. He tries to stay strong, but when Jo announces her plan, he simply loses it inside of himself.**

 **I guess that Kate's several reactions can seem a bit over-dramatized for some of you, but just imagine the frustration, sadness and simple pain that could fill you if you were in her shoes. She's read the 'Supernatural' books (which are basically from season 1 to season 3), she's read John Winchester's journal and she's known Sam and Dean for nearly a year. She deeply cares about these two boys, so getting to see what their life was like before their mother died could only be a great shock to her.**

 **Alright, I think that's all I needed to say about this chapter. I am aware that not many questions have been answered, but be patient, answers are coming ;)**

 **And now I wanna thank each and all of you who reviewed and sent me private messages since my last update! Thank you also for putting this story into your favourites, for following this story and little old me. And, just thank you so very much for your support! You guys are awesome and I just don't know what to tell you. I could just thank you forever!**

 **Renee** **: I'm happy you liked the way I portrayed Jo on the last chapter. And, I'm really glad that you like Matt this much :)! I'm sorry for taking this long to update after a chapter ending on a cliffhanger… Thanks for your review.**

 **Wolfenergy** **: I'm so sorry for not letting that kiss happen. Fun fact: Dean and Kate were supposed to kiss. But, I made a last moment change for some reasons that I can't say yet. I'm sorry if you found Dean to be a bit OOC when thinking that Kate would be sleeping with Matt… It's just that for me, Dean doesn't feel worthy enough for a woman like Kate to care for him as much as he cares for her. But, I keep in mind that it was a bit OOC so that next time I won't let it happen :)! So, you think that Mary's ring might come in handy… Mmh, we'll see that on the next chapter ;)! Haha, I'm happy you loved Kate's line when she hugged Castiel! Thank you for your review! It really made me smile! I hope you enjoyed this 12** **th** **chapter :)**

 **Jules** **: Half of your review made me blush! I'm surprised that you think that I write Bobby and Castiel this well. Castiel is always a bit of a challenge for me and I'm always afraid of making him too OOC… More passages with Sammy are coming, don't you worry ;)! I'm glad you enjoyed every Dean's little moments. Sorry for not letting the kiss happen haha! And, it's such an honour to know that last chapter was your favourite of every fanfictions… Thank you!**

 **Guest** **(December 2** **nd** **, 2015): Well, I'm sorry if you found that my story suck. But, thanks for still reading that many chapters before giving me a so well-constructed review. I guess it's because you pitied me just like my readers do, huh?**

 **RomaineSweetheart** **: I'm really happy that you enjoyed last chapter! I'm glad that you liked the way I portrayed Jo (so far, everyone is happy about that and that's just a great relief for me haha). I truly hope that this new chapter made you happy since you've been waiting for the moment when Kate finds out what happened in 1983! Next chapter will give you more answers ;)! Thank you for your review!**

 **Guest** **(December 6** **th** **, 2015): Thank you for the review!**

 **K** **: The last line of chapter 11 may have shown you how good of a decision you took to give a shot to my story, but it's your review and all the readers' reviews that show me how good of a decision I took to post my story on the internet! I'm really happy that you like all my OCs! And, thanks for pointing out the three things you liked the most about the 11** **th** **chapter :). It's noted: more Sam/Kate moments + more Cas/Kate moments! Thank you again for your review!**

 **Guest** **(December 14** **th** **, 2015): I'm happy you find my story exciting hah! Thanks for the review :)**

 **Shan** **: I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update for Christmas… Still, thank you for your sweet review! It always surprises me so much when people say that my writing of Castiel isn't as bad I think it is. As for Dean and Kate's kiss, I'm sorry! But, you know that it will happen! So, don't worry! You'll get your Dean/OC sooner than you think! Thank you again!**

 **Guest** **(December 16** **th** **,2015): Thank you for loving my story!**

 **Rubyrose** **: Thank you for your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!**

 **Sally** **: Thank you for your review! But, what makes you say that Kate will be back? :p Let's say hypothetically that she get back to the Supernatural universe, then that idea of yours of Dean and Kate teaching Castiel some social skills has a high chance to come true ;)**

 **Happymeami** **: Thank you for your reviews, but also thank you for your kind words! I'm sorry I've taken this long to update… The kiss will happen, don't you worry. Be a little patient, it's all coming ;) I hope you enjoyed this 12** **th** **chapter!**

 **Guest** **(December 24** **th** **, 2015): I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for the review!**

 **Patty** **: Too many sweet compliments, I don't know what to say and re-reading them makes me blush... Thank you very much! Oh, and interesting question! Why don't I write all of the scenes that happen in an episode? Well, simply because if you guys are reading this story it's because you've already seen season 4 and 5 (if not, get out of here and go watch them!) and I think that it would get just boring to read all the episode again. Besides, it's a fanfiction about Sam and Dean's universe, sure. But, as you may have noticed since the last volume, this story mainly follows the journey of a little brunette and she's just not 24/7 with the Winchesters. So, of course some episodes are not developed into full chapters unlike others. Anyways, thank you for your review :)!**

 **Klandgraf2007** **: At last someone who understands that it's not my fault if Kate and Dean didn't kiss, but it's Chronos' fault haha! Thank you for your review :)**

 **Guest** **(December 30** **th** **, 2015): Thank you for reading and loving my story!**

 **Emily** **: Aw, thank you for re-reading my whole story! I'm really happy that you caught on all these little snippets. For me, these little snippets show better than anything else the characters' developments and also the developments of the different relationships. Alright, you want more about Kate's childhood and some memories about her father and her cousin, well let me tell you that it's already planned so you just have to be a bit patient :)! Also, I'll try to make it clearer next time but Sam and Dean don't know about that incident with the Cleaner in 1983. You think Dean will be angry when Kate will be back? Well, maybe. Maybe not. We'll find out that very soon ;)**

 **Guest** **(January 16** **th** **, 2016): You're my 100** **th** **review! Thank you for leaving it here and here are virtual cookies for you :)**

 **Thank you all for your support and I can't wait to read what you thought about this 12** **th** **chapter!**

 **Take really good care of yourself,**

 **Much love,**

 **A.**


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter was beta-read by the fantastic 'Igotzapped'.**

 **This chapter contains elements from the episode ' _Sam interrupted_ ' (5x11).**

 **Universe One** **: The Supernatural universe.**

 **Universe Two:** **Kate's universe.**

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

"So, let me get this straight," Mary began, tucking her hair behind her ears as the rain kept pouring hard. "The girl we just saw leaving in that blue car… That was _you_. You, before you were pulled t-to my universe?" Kate's eyes were glued to the direction her past-self was driving down. "Kate!" Mary exclaimed, pulling Kate's attention to her. The brunette didn't say a word as she just moved her eyes to stare at the blonde. "Kate… I need you to help me here," she continued with a softer voice as she almost pleaded the young woman.

Kate scanned the blonde's face for a moment. Every single feature of her pretty face screamed fear and confusion. But, it was the way her blue eyes stared right back at Kate with an indescribable desperation that caused a heartache to the brunette.

"I'm sorry," Kate eventually declared, causing Mary's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You just said that this girl is _**you**_ in the future." Mary told her, frustration starting to rise inside of her.

"In my past," Kate corrected in a little voice.

"Whatever! We were at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital! And, one second later we're in another- another _dimension_! And, in _another_ _year_! These things don't happen! They _can't_ happen! Maybe these weird things happen to you, but not to me! Not anymore!" Mary let out her frustration before she took a deep breath and continued in a much calmer tone. "Kate, I gotta go back… You gotta get me back."

"I-I can't," Kate replied with a pained expression.

"What do you mean ' _you can't'_? This isn't what I'm asking you!" Mary frowned at her.

"Well, what do you want me to tell you?" Kate half-snapped over the noisy pouring rain. "I have no idea why we're here or how that's even possible for us to be standing in this freakin' parking lot at this exact time and in _this_ universe! I don't know!"

"So what? You're giving up?" Mary asked, eyebrows scrunching down further. "Is that how hunters work in the future? When they don't know something, they just give up?" Kate looked away, not knowing what to say to her. "I may not be a hunter anymore, but _you_ _are_. And, that means you help people, you save them! And, when you don't know what the matter is, you research. You try to figure it out. You do all you can and _even_ _more_ to help people," Mary explained, causing Kate to shift her gaze back to her. With a calmer voice, Mary continued, "I just wanna go back to my family."

No confusion nor fear painted the face of the blonde this time. Actually, there was a peculiar strength in Mary's blue orbs. A strength to believe that Kate could get her back home. A strength to believe that Kate _would_ get her back home. A strength to believe.

Kate glanced down at Mary's belly and her heart immediately filled again with sorrow and guilt. When she met Mary's gaze again, she realized that she had already seen that expression before.

But the eyes filled with that expression weren't blue.

They were _green_.

And, that was all it took for the brunette to understand that she had to do something to get Mary back home; back to her family.

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 26th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

Sam and Dean were both aware of how crazy their plan was. Still, they had no other choice but to get into that psychiatric hospital to help their father's friend. They had spent over three weeks mourning at Bobby's place. And when Matt left for Canada about a week ago, Sam had decided that he had spent enough time doing research with Bobby. He tried to get his brother to go back on the road with him, but Dean didn't show any motivation to do anything but work on his car, drink a huge amount of booze and lock himself in the room that had sort of become his over the years. Sam had tried to be patient and present for his brother, but there were times when it was too much for him.

Sam had nearly found it to be a miracle when Martin Creaser, their father's friend, had contacted them for help about a case. Sam knew that Dean wouldn't refuse helping that man who had saved their father in the past. Sure, the younger brother was a bit skeptical as to what the case really was about, but he would have taken anything that would get Dean to understand that they had to go back to work.

And that was how they found themselves sitting across Doctor Fuller in the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital while this latter read the file Dean had given him about Sam.

"You were referred to me by a Doctor Babar in Chicago," Doctor Fuller told them, looking back and forth at them and the file before his eyes.

"That's right," Dean confirmed.

"Isn't there a children's book about an elephant named Babar?" The Doctor inquired.

"I don't know… I don't have any elephant books," Dean replied, slightly shrugging. He leaned in. "Look, Doctor, I-I-I think the doc was in over his head with this one," he told him, pointing at Sam. "'Cause my brother is..." He trailed off, circling his finger at the side of his head and whistling to illustrate the craziness of his brother.

Doctor Fuller immediately raised a hand, stopping him, "Okay, fine, thank you. That's-that's really not necessary." He then grabbed his file and notepad as he looked at Sam. "Why don't you tell me how you're feeling, Alex?"

"I'm fine," Sam sighed, playing the role he was supposed to play. "I mean, okay, a little depressed, I guess."

"Okay. Any idea why?" Doctor Fuller asked, taking notes.

"Probably because I started the apocalypse," Sam simply replied.

Dean had told him that if they told their story straight, they would instantly get admitted to that hospital. And, by the way the doctor paused and then looked up at Sam, it seemed that Dean was right.

"The apocalypse?"

"Yeah, that's right," Sam confirmed, causing the doctor to look at Dean who smiled to him.

"And you think you started it?" Doctor Fuller asked.

"Well, yeah, I mean... I killed this demon, Lilith, and I accidentally freed Lucifer from hell. So now, he's topside, and we're trying to stop him," Sam replied, doing his best to ignore the slight heartache that saying these words out loud created in him.

"Who is?" Doctor Fuller slightly frowned.

"Me. A-and him," Sam casually answered, pointing at Dean. "There also was a friend of us, but she's gone back to her world."

Dean slightly froze. It had been nearly over two weeks since he heard any mention of _her_.

"Who is _she_?"

"I don't think that's important – " Dean began before Doctor Fuller cut him off while Sam looked at his brother.

"No, no. Let him talk."

"No, he's right," Sam declared, clearing his throat. "She's back to her world anyway."

"Back to her world?" Doctor Fuller inquired, taking notice of Dean's right hand as it started twirling with the hair-tie around his left wrist.

"Yeah, she was from a parallel universe… But, we still got this one angel."

"Oh, you mean, like a... Like an angel on your shoulder," the doctor said, gesturing to his shoulder.

"No. His name's Castiel. He wears a trench coat," Sam clarified, looking completely serious.

The doctor stared at him for a short while before drifting his eyes to Dean, who once his gaze met the doctor's seemed to be pulled out of his thoughts.

The green-eyed hunter cleared his throat and leaned in, "See what I mean, Doc? The kid's been beating himself up about this for months." The doctor glanced at Sam who remained quiet. "The apocalypse wasn't his fault," Dean added in matter-of-factly tone.

It stunned Doctor Fuller to hear Dean say those words in such a tone, "It's not?"

"No. There was this other demon, Ruby. She got him addicted to demon blood, and near the end, he was practically chugging this stuff," Dean explained, causing the Doctor to glance at Sam who immediately looked down, ashamed. "My brother's not evil. He was just...high...yeah? So, could you fix him up so we can get back to traveling around the country and hunting monsters?"

With these words, Doctor Fuller put up a finger for them to wait, picked up his phone and pushed a button. "Irma... Cancel my lunch." He looked over at Sam and Dean, and saw Dean patting Sam comfortingly on the arm while this latter had his eyes glued to Dean's left hand on his lap; the one whom wrist had a hairband wrapped around.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

It had been a couple of hours since Kate and Mary left the parking lot of Kate's old working place. Luckily enough, the receptionist had accepted for them to pay later after seeing Kate's FBI badge. They got a simple room with a single bed, an armchair and a television settled on a little wardrobe right next to a large electric heater.

All along their ten-minute walk to the hotel, Kate had to propel Mary forward several times as this latter got her attention pulled at many different things that they crossed path with. From the many advertising billboards to the people talking on cellphones that were far from looking like the big devices that started to appear in 1983, Mary couldn't help staring at everything with big, round eyes. With every step they took, Mary felt as though this whole world was not real. She had asked Kate if the future back in her universe looked like this one and Kate had confirmed that it was similar in more ways than she could say. It didn't comfort Mary who then remained as quiet as can be. Kate hadn't said much neither.

After they checked in the hotel, Kate had suggested for Mary to take a hot shower while she went to bring more towels from the reception desk, seeing as they were completely soaked from head to toe because of the rain. When the brunette returned with a couple of towels and a bathrobe, she found Mary, who was wearing another brown bathrobe, adjusting her wrung-out clothes on the electric heater.

"Quick shower," Kate remarked as she closed the door behind her and walked into the green and brown room.

Mary turned to her, "Yeah, I figured the faster we're done showering, the sooner we'll get to work on our problem."

"Right," Kate simply replied before glancing down at the towels in her arms. She put one on the edge of the bed and made her way to the bathroom, without saying a word as Mary watched her.

Not even three minutes later, when Mary heard the shower running, the former hunter decided to take Kate's clothes and hang them out on the radiator as well. She walked in the bathroom without knocking since she knew that the shower had a thick, black curtain that would preserve Kate's intimacy. In spite of the dim light of the bathroom, her blue eyes immediately spotted the clothes laying on the edge of the sink. She went for them and started taking them when her gaze was drawn to the objects settled on the other edge of the sink. Kate's knife, a little black wallet, a tiny canvas bag and her fake federal ID badge. But, it was none of these objects that pulled Mary's attention. It wasn't even the mystic marble laying on the wet, folded paper. But, it was the object right next to it.

It was an object that was way too familiar for Mary.

Gathering Kate's wet clothes in one arm, Mary reached out her free hand to grab the necklace whom particular pendant got her heart to skip a beat.

With her fingers, she turned the very familiar ring until she could see what was engraved on the inside.

 _ **Forever and Always – John and Mary**_

Mary dropped the clothes, causing a slight thumping noise to reach Kate's ears.

"Mary?" Kate asked from behind the curtain, cutting the water. Mary moved her gaze away from the silver ring to look at the curtain. "Mary, is that you?"

"Um… Yeah."

"W-what are you doing here?"

"I… I'm just taking your clothes to hang them on the radiator," Mary explained, staring at the black curtain without blinking once.

"Oh, alright. Thanks," Kate replied and then she re-started the water.

Suspicion knotted tightly inside of Mary as she returned her attention to the ring at the end of the necklace she was holding. A hundred of questions ran wildly in her head, especially considering the fact that she had been looking for this ring the past couple of days. What if Kate had lied to her? What if Kate hadn't come to 1983 on Halloween day, but earlier? But, why would she hide that fact from Mary? What if that creature was right when it called Kate a liar? And, what would she steal her ring?

Mary tightened her jaw as she put the necklace back to its spot next to the wondrous marble. Her blue eyes stared at the silver ring for a moment before she quickly bent down to grab the clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

It was only a matter of a few short minutes before Kate finished her shower. She put on a bathrobe and gathered her belongings before opening the bathroom door. She didn't even make one step out when confusion stopped her. On the floor, right in front of her, was all her clothes tossed in a disregarded pile.

"Good. You're finally done," Mary declared, causing Kate to look over at where she was standing a few feet away, only to see the blonde aiming her pistol at her.

"Whoa, Mary – "

"Very slowly, you're going to walk to the bed and put down everything you've got in hands," Mary instructed, her tone as stern as the expression on her face.

"What –"

"Just do what I said," Mary cut her off. Kate swallowed down before doing as told. "Alright, now step back." Kate's eyebrows furrowed, but she still obeyed. "You know, when I told you that those things you said about my boys made me trust you. It's actually half the truth. The way you said those things made me want to know _why_. But above all else, they made me want to figure out why a stranger would say such words with this much sincerity and _affection_. Those words made me want to trust you, Kate. But, it's your eyes that completed the work." Kate remained quiet as she looked at Mary who seemed to struggle to keep on a hard and cold face as she spoke. "But, now I have doubts. Doubts about if I should really trust you or not."

"Why?" Kate murmured in a soft voice.

"Because I think you're not telling me all the truth," Mary replied and Kate bit down on her lip as she looked down at her clothes on the floor and then moved her gaze to the objects she had dropped on the bed.

"You saw the ring when I was in the shower," Kate stated, returning her brown gaze to Mary.

" _My_ ring," Mary corrected her. "I've been looking for it for days. I thought I lost it, but you're the one who took it," she continued, confusing Kate who frowned at her. "What did you steal it for? What purpose –"

"Whoa, no, Mary, slow down," Kate told her, raising her hands up. "I didn't steal your ring."

"Don't lie to me," Mary warned her, taking one step towards the brunette with her pistol still aiming at her.

"I'm not!" Kate exclaimed. "Do you really think I'd lie to someone ready to shoot me?"

Mary scanned her face for a couple of seconds. "Then, how did you get it, huh? _How_?"

"Someone gave it to me," Kate explained as Mary squinted her eyes at her. "It was before I was sent to your neighborhood in 1983. Back when I was in 2009 in your universe, someone... Someone gave it to me." With one hand, Kate pulled the necklace out from under the bathrobe and then took it off her neck. She slowly went to the bed and put the necklace on it. "If you don't believe me, then take a better look at the engravings and tell me that time hasn't passed on that ring."

Mary looked back and forth at the ring and at Kate. Rather hesitantly, the blue-eyed woman eventually approached the bed and took the necklace. The room's light was brighter than in the bathroom and when Mary looked at the ring hanging at the end of the necklace, she instantly noticed that the ring did seem a bit older. The engravings only emphasized that fact as they seemed greyer compared as to when she looked at them in the bathroom. When Kate saw Mary lower the pistol that was in her other hand, the brunette let out a breath of relief.

Mary looked over at her, all hardness disappeared from her face as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. Kate watched Mary as she put the pistol next to her and stared at the ring for a moment before she looked up and met Kate's gaze.

"You said someone gave it to you," Mary began almost whispering. "It was me, wasn't it? I mean, it was my future-self who gave it to you before you came to my neighborhood so that I could know you're trustworthy. Right?" Kate didn't say anything. "But that also means something else, right?" Kate saw tears forming in the woman's blue eyes, but she still didn't say a word. "The hunter life eventually caught me again," Mary sniffled, a first tear falling down her cheek as she looked at the ring in her hand. Kate's eyes traveled to the ring as well, her mind filling with the memory of Dean's tender expression when he looked at it.

" _What are you doing? No, you keep it with you,"_ she had told the green-eyed hunter when he wanted to put the necklace with the ring around her neck.

" _I want you to keep it until I come back,"_ he had said and she had refused again before he continued. _"It's my mother's. I won't forgive myself if I lose it there. Please, Kaitlin. Just keep it until I come back. Please."_

"Just tell me one thing, Kate," Mary looked up at her, tears making her blue eyes sparkle. "Tell me that, although the hunter life caught me again, tell me that it didn't catch my family." The brunette felt her heart shatter into thousands of hurtful pieces. "Tell me that the reason why you said those things about my kids has nothing to do with hunting. Please, tell me that I haven't done _that_ to my kids," she cried. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I –"

"Mary," Kate stopped her, quickly going over to her. She crouched down in front of the crying woman and rested her hands on top of hers. "Don't do that to yourself," she gently told her.

"If you say that it means I-I," Mary sobbed.

"No," Kate didn't let her finish. "No. It doesn't mean what you think. I just… I can't tell you the future because this might change it. You might decide to… To do things differently and any alteration can lead to a big change." Mary frowned with puzzlement at her. "What I can tell you is that you'll get back to your family. I don't know how yet, but I _know_ that you'll be back to them. All you gotta do, is trust me."

Mary looked down at the brunette's hands on top of hers. Right beneath them, she could see the silver ring shining. She lifted her gaze and looked right into Kate's eyes. Mary could have been surprised by the teary aspect of these two brown orbs, but she wasn't.

All Mary knew was that this far away from home, she could only trust this young woman. Truth be told, she felt like she could even trust her with her own life.

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 26th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

Leaning against the back of a couch, Dean was waiting for his brother to finish his own exam with the nurse. His green eyes were glued to the floor as his fingers twirled with the hairband around his left wrist that the doctor agreed not to take away, along with a few of his other belongings. He was lost in his thoughts, like he had been most of the time these past weeks. Not a day passed without heavy thoughts occupying the same space in his mind. His brain seemed to have a mind on its own as it forced him into reliving the painful memories of Hell he had succeeded on burying until now. And, when it wasn't those memories, it was more recent memories that filled his mind, along with a deep and raw feeling of guilt. He could feel it all killing him from the inside. But he couldn't do a thing about, it and there wasn't any kindhearted brunette to comfort him anymore.

She was gone.

That impossible girl from another world was gone.

Deep down, he knew that this time would come. But, he didn't think that it would be this soon, this sudden. He didn't think that her leaving would rip out something inside of him. But, that was what it did. It ripped the warmth hope that she had developed within him. He was left with the same cold darkness that he returned from Hell with.

"Hey," Sam's voice shook Dean out of his thoughts.

"Hey," Dean cleared his throat, dropping his hand away from the hairband as he pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. "So, how was your Silkwood shower?"

"Okay. Yeah, good. Yeah, good, um-good water pressure. Did the nurse..." Sam trailed off.

"She was very thorough."

"Yeah. Yeah, good. Good. Yeah," Sam commented awkwardly before Dean turned to look around the lounge where the other patients were.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Dean sighed.

"Hey, it's the least we could do. Martin saved Dad's ass more times than we can count. He's a great hunter," Sam stated.

" _Was_ ," Dean corrected. "Until Albuquerque."

"Besides, I just figure it's best we keep busy. That's all," Sam explained.

"Better than what?"

"Nothing," Sam replied, but Dean motioned for him to say more. "Okay. Look... Um... Last few weeks, you've kind of been worrying me."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Oh, come on, Sam. Stop. Look, just because we're in the loony bin doesn't give you the right to head-shrink me."

"Dean – "

"Ellen and Jo dying-Yeah, it was a fuckin' tragedy, okay? But I'm not gonna wallow in it," Dean declared.

"It's not just about them, Dean. There's K – "

"Shut up, Sam. Like I've already said it a thousand times, I'm fine."

"Dean, you always do this. You can't just keep this crap in," Sam told him, deeply concerned for his big brother.

"Watch me," Dean chuckled before looking over a table and spotting their father's friend sitting there. "Oh, there he is."

Dean changing the topic was Sam's cue for him to understand that this conversation was over. He looked at Dean and then followed him towards a table where Martin was sitting, staring out the window. Sam felt a bit sad when he saw the way Martin was completely lost in his thoughts. He could easily remember the time when this man was one of the greatest hunters they knew. Their father talked highly of Martin and so did Bobby. Sam and Dean had met the man several times when they were younger. He was a good man that always tried to cheer them up with a couple of jokes and funny stories. Sam would have never imagined to see him in this kind of place; but like Dean had said it: that was until Albuquerque.

Sam glanced at Dean and then decided to take the lead as he cleared his throat to pull Martin's attention to them. It worked as the man turned his head to look up at them.

Genuinely surprised to see them so grown-up, Martin stood up. "Sam, Dean, wow… Wow, you boys got big. You look good."

"Thanks," Sam smiled. "You do, too, Martin."

A short silence settled itself as Martin didn't know what to say in reply. He quickly motioned them to sit down. "Uh...Well, thanks for coming."

"Yeah," Sam just replied, turning around to get a chair while Dean and Martin sat down.

Once Sam was sitting with them, Martin smiled and said, "In the old days, I could've taken care of this thing with both hands tied behind my back... But, well... Now..."

"What do you think it is that we're hunting?" Sam asked, understanding that Martin wasn't at ease to say out loud why he couldn't take care of this case on his own.

"I don't know yet," Martin responded. "A ghost, demon, monster... Animal, vegetable, mineral," he added in a chuckle. "Hospital's had five deaths in the last four months. Doctors keep calling it suicides, but they're wrong."

"So, you've seen this thing?" Sam inquired, only for Martin to shake his head 'no'.

"Has anyone seen this thing?" Dean asked, causing Martin to look at him.

"Well, a couple patients have, uh...had glimpses, but there's not a lot to go on."

"Are they reliable?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, sure, why wouldn't they be?" Martin slightly frowned, not sure to understand Dean's question.

A patient passed by them, dancing and humming, and Dean followed her with his eyes for a few seconds before looking back at Martin. "Gee, I don't know."

"I know you boys think I'm a bag of loose screws. Now, you wouldn't be wrong. But I wouldn't have called you unless there was something here. I can feel it in my gut," Martin explained.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. They both knew that a hunter's instinct couldn't be trifled with, no matter how crazy the hunter seemed to be.

"We believe you," Sam declared with a firm, little nod. "Have you checked any of the bodies? Found signs of an attack?"

"Well, uh, no..." Martin started to blink a few times, obviously not comfortable with what was just brought up. "I don't go around dead b-b-b-bodies anymore."

Sam and Dean frowned as Martin started to flinch when the voice of Doctor Fuller caused the two brothers to turn to face him.

"Alex, Eddie," the doctor greeted. "Well, I'm glad to see you're making friends. Why don't you and, uh, Mr. Creaser join us for group? Please. Right this way."

Sam, Dean and Martin all stood up while the doctor watched them. Sam and Martin walked by the doctor towards the corridor and Dean was going to follow them when he got stopped by the doctor.

"Actually, I'm gonna be putting you in the afternoon group," Doctor Fuller told him.

"What? Why?"

"Well, to be frank, uh, the relationship that you have with your brother seems dangerously codependent. I think a little time apart will do you both good," the doctor explained before walking away.

Although confused, Dean waved a little goodbye to Sam as he watched him follow the doctor and a few other patients. He kept his green eyes glued to his little brother's back until they all turned to a corner and were out of sight. He exhaled a long sigh and looked around. All the patients seemed in their own little world, not having a single clue of all the crap happening in the world outside. It occurred to Dean that if they knew, they would go even crazier; unless it was precisely the world outside that had caused them all to get into this place. Dean of all people ought to know.

And, without realizing it, Dean lost himself in his own thoughts while his fingers fiddled with the hairband around his wrist.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

After a long sleepless night, Kate and Mary left the hotel when the first rays of sunshine slipped into their room. Although Kate had gotten a few snacks from the vending machine in the hotel's reception hall, neither of them had truly felt like eating. They were too preoccupied by the complicated situation they were in for them to sit down and grab a bite, let alone to have a good night of sleep. The thing was that after Kate reassured Mary that she would get back to her family, the two women spent quite some time trying to figure out why they had both been pulled into this universe and at this precise time. Surely, this conversation had inevitably let Kate to explain a few things to Mary.

Making sure not to let the names of Sam and Dean slip, Kate told a bit of her story to Mary. She explained what that creature at the hospital was, what sent her to steal that mystic object and also how she had found herself pulled into that universe in the first place. Mary had listened carefully and she had asked a good number of questions; all very clever and all diminishing any kind of confusion within her. However, one thing had remained incomprehensible for Mary. She couldn't understand how Kate could have chosen to become a hunter. The brunette had tried to explain to her that she wasn't really a hunter and that all these months spent with a group of hunters keeping her safe had just made her have to know a few things about hunting. For Mary it seemed that Kate was only denying what she had become, although the blonde kept this opinion for herself.

When it was around one in the morning, Kate had gone for the armchair, leaving Mary to sleep in the single bed. But, neither of them slept. With the moonlight and the street's lights shining through the window, Mary had spent a long moment staring at her silver ring while Kate had spent that time staring at the mystic marble in her hand. Both had their minds filled with thousands of thoughts and questions.

Questions about the future for Mary and questions about the past for Kate.

Questions that could only be answered by finding out _how_ and _why_ they got pulled into this universe.

That was by realizing this very fact that the two women restarted putting forward theories, each better than the previous one. That was all this thinking that led them to the parking lot they had been pulled to the middle of the day before.

"I don't see anything," Mary declared, looking over at Kate who was standing a few feet away from her.

Kate bit on her bottom lip as she watched the black ground, trying to find some kind of clue that would help them figure out why they had been pulled to that exact area. "There must be something."

"Kate, we've been looking for over half an hour," Mary walked towards her. "Even if there was any kind of clue, yesterday's rain would have washed it away."

"I suppose," Kate sighed, looking up at the blonde who was now standing in front of her. "But, you said it yourself last night: there must be a reason for that marble to pull us into this exact area."

"Well, it's the parking lot of the place you used to work in, so maybe the reason isn't in that exact area, but in _there_ ," Mary suggested, nodding towards the building. "You said you started working in that place after your father passed away, right?"

"Yeah," Kate nodded, looking over at the big, grey building she used to work in after she had to leave Paris to return to the States when her father was sick. "According to today's date, he passed away about five months ago. I got that job about two weeks later. So, then I left Lawrence where he was hospitalized and I came back to Topeka," she turned her gaze back to Mary.

"So, you think there's nothing special with this place?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I found out thanks to the call of a stranger that my boyfriend was cheating on me, nothing thrilling or special ever happened in this place."

"A secret admirer told you this?" Mary inquired, a funny look painted on her face.

"No. Just a stranger who called me and urged me to go back to the apartment I was sharing with my boyfriend of the time. She claimed that my apartment was on fire and that it was why my boyfriend wasn't answering my calls. I tried to call him and he was indeed not answering my calls, so I rushed there. And that's how I found out that he was cheating on me with someone I almost considered a friend."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mary slightly winced.

"No, that's alright. It was ages ago," Kate waved her hand at her to emphasize how moved on from that she was. "On the other hand, our problem is present," she turned to look at the cars that started to drive in the parking lot to take their places. "Maybe, we should leave. I don't think this place has any answers for us."

Kate turned, ready to leave the parking lot when Mary reached out her bandaged hand to grab the brunette's forearm, "Or maybe we should wait."

"What?"

"Maybe something will happen if we wait right here," Mary replied, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, um, I don't think that's a great idea to camp out all day here. Especially considering the fact that the other Kate could see me."

"Why would that be a problem?"

"Well, it's like in 'Back to the Future', Marty can't see his past-self, you know," Kate replied casually.

"I don't get it," Mary frowned. "What's ' _Back to the Future'_?"

"Oh. Right," Kate drawled. "1983, the movies didn't come out yet," She mumbled to herself before clearing her throat to start her explanation. "Alright, so, 'Back to the Future' is a trilogy movie about time-traveling. There's this one character, Marty, who goes back in time and he changes a few things, which inevitably provokes changes in the future. And, in the second movie he goes to the past again, but there's his first version who traveled in time in the first movie, so he has to be careful not to meet this version of himself if he doesn't want to create what we call a time paradox."

"A time paradox?" Mary repeated, utter confusion shining in her blue eyes.

"Yeah, um, let's imagine that you travel back in time and meet your grandfather before he gets any children. And, then you kill him. Well, then you wouldn't have been born, and yet you're there; you're the one who killed him. But how could you have done that if you weren't born... That's a time paradox."

"Alright," Mary drawled, slowly taking in the explanation. "That makes perfect sense even though it doesn't make any sense at the same time."

"Yeah, I know," Kate gave a little chuckle before she saw Mary glancing over her shoulder.

"Hey, time paradox on its way," Mary remarked, causing Kate to turn around.

There was her old, blue car slowly making its way to the place that Kate remembered used to be her parking lot place. It was just a few feet away from the two women, but they still didn't move from their spot as they watched the car park. Right when the engine went off, the name of Kate was called out loud, causing the two women to turn their heads to their left. A man carrying a big green box, was making his way from his car to Kate's blue car and the brunette standing next to Mary instantly remembered a few things that had happened that day.

When Past-Kate stepped out of the car, Mary immediately noticed how different she looked from the brunette standing right next to her. Past-Kate had long curly brown hair and she also looked a bit curvier than the brunette by her side. Mary slightly frowned as she looked back and forth at the two versions. She felt a bit sad when her blue eyes settled on the profile of the woman next to her. She understood right away that the time Kate had passed in the hunter universe wasn't easy for the brunette's face was composed of peculiar features. A peculiar hardness and a deep pain that could only be noticed by someone who knew the hunter life.

Mary's blue eyes traveled up to the little cut on Kate's forehead; the one she had taken care of after the brunette had saved her son. Then, they traveled down to the brunette's neck, partially covered up by the short brown curls falling from Kate's head. The Cleaner's strangling had provoked purple bruises to appear on the pale skin of her neck and whenever Mary saw them, her mind was filled with the echoes of the words she had heard back in that hospital room.

" _Unfortunately, Mary Winchester, you're not mine to take. But, don't worry, your rueful end is coming soon."_

Those words of the Cleaner's gave her more shivers than she dared to let it to show. So far, all that kept her going was her ring. If she gave her ring to Kate in the future, it meant that Mary was still alive. It meant that no 'rueful end' was coming soon for her. It meant that Mary had a future.

"We should go," Kate whispered to Mary causing her to blink out of her thoughts. Mary looked at the brunette who was now fully turned to her in order to give her back to Past-Kate and the man with the box as they walked right behind. Mary's eyes followed Past-Kate as she made her way to the building without paying attention to them.

"She's in the building now," Mary told Kate who looked over at the big front door.

"I think you were right," Kate stated.

"About?"

"There gotta be a reason for that marble to bring us right here yesterday," Kate explained. "But, that's not the place. That's me. I mean, the 'me' who just went in there."

"Alright. So, what do we do now?"

"Well, I'm thinking about a trip down memory lane," Kate replied, confusing Mary who simply frowned at her in answer.

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 26th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

It was less than ten minutes later that Sam found himself sitting in a circle with Martin, five other patients, and Doctor Fuller for a group session of sharing thoughts and feelings.

"Alright," Doctor Fuller began looking at all the patients. "So… Who would like to start us off?" One of the patients immediately shot his hand up, causing the doctor to let out a little sigh. "Anyone else?" The doctor asked, looking over at the other patients. "Alex," he fixed at Sam whose eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What about you, huh? It could be a good way for us to get to know you better."

"Um, I..." Sam began, throwing a glance at the patient who kept his hand raised up. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Just say what's on your mind," the doctor smiled at him. Sam glanced at Martin and then turned his hazel gaze back to the doctor. "Come on. Tell me about that mission you think you have."

"Um, okay," Sam drawled, causing the other patient to frown and drop his hand. "Well, my brother and I hunt and kill monsters –"

"Monsters!" A patient yelped and not any patient; it was the one who was eager to speak first.

"Ted," Doctor Fuller told him in a patronizing tone. "Let Alex say what he wants to say."

"No, I guess he could talk instead –" Sam started to say.

"He will. But you go first," the doctor interrupted Sam who looked over at Ted. "Tell me about that friend of yours. The one who went back to her world." Sam frowned as he shifted his hazel eyes back to the doctor. "She was important for you and your brother, wasn't she?" Sam simply stared at him. "We all have someone important to us."

"Mister Benny!" A patient giggled out loud.

"Right," the doctor stated looking over at the woman who kept giggling. "For Alice, it's Mister Benny. But what about your friend, Alex? What was her name?"

"Kate... Katie," Sam nearly whispered. "Her name _**is**_ Katie. She's gone back home and she's... She's safe now. Away from the monsters –"

"Monsters!" Ted exclaimed, raising his hand.

"Ted, it's still Alex's turn to talk," the doctor warned the patient before shifting his attention back to Sam. "She is safe because you saved her?"

"No, she... She saved herself," Sam half-murmured while Martin watched him with a little frown.

"You sound upset about this," Doctor Fuller pointed out. "Would you rather she stayed with you and the monsters?"

"Ah!" Ted exclaimed at the mention of 'monsters'.

"Ted, no –"

"I don't want to talk anymore," Sam interrupted the doctor, looking down as he couldn't help but consider the question that was asked to him.

"Alright. No pressure, Alex. You already did really good. Maybe, next time you'll tell us more about your friend," the doctor said and Ted immediately started to fidget on his chair, moving his hand in the air to show that he wanted to speak now. "Alright, Ted. Calm down."

Ted lowered his hand, "I am calm. And I'd very calmly like to talk about the monster that's hunting us."

"Ted, we're not going to have that discussion again," the doctor replied. "It's not good for group."

"I agree," Ted stated. "You know what else isn't good for group? A monster eating all our faces off."

Sam frowned, lifting his head to look over at Ted. He glanced at Martin and then looked back at Ted as he realized that patient might have seen the creature they were hunting.

"Alright, fine, thank you. Now, anyone else?" Doctor Fuller asked, turning to look at the other patients.

"I saw it... When it killed Susan and now maybe Alex can save us!"

"I saw it, too," another patient jumped into the conversation. "It had big lobster claws."

"No, it didn't," Ted frowned at her.

"Yeah, and it was an alien, like on X-Files," the other patient continued.

"Stop it. Stop helping. Listen to me. We're all dead!" Ted exclaimed.

"That's enough," the doctor stopped him. He leaned forward, taking off his glasses. "There is no monster."

"There's one and Alex can save us –"

"Ted, do you need me to call the orderlies..." The doctor began. Sam looked at him and then at Ted who was shaking his head. "... Or can you behave?"

"Behave!" Ted nodded as Sam and Martin exchanged a look.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

Kate and Mary were sitting at the window table of the diner across the brunette's old work place. Kate still had enough money in her wallet to pay breakfast for both Mary and herself. They had come to this nearly empty diner right after they left the parking lot, Kate had asked Mary to be patient while she did what she had called a 'trip down her memory lane'. Surely, in a universe with no magic, Kate couldn't do the same kind of trip down memory lane than what Pamela made her and Dean do before. But, she still had to do that 'trip'. The thing was that when Kate saw her past-self, she understood that the key to figure everything out was her past-self. She just knew that if she could remember as many details as possible of the days before she got pulled into a dark hole and ended up in Bobby Singer's junkyard, then she would figure out a way back for Mary and for herself.

Nothing could stop her anymore.

She knew that she yet had to give Chronos the marble so that they could contact God and put an end to the Apocalypse of Sam and Dean's world. And knowing this fact made her feel confident enough that Mary and she weren't stuck in this universe. Sadly, the fact that Kate knew Mary still had to die on November 2nd also helped confirm that they weren't going to stay stuck in this universe. The brunette tried not to think too much about this tragedy as she put all her focus on trying to write down the schedule of the things that happened to her about a year ago.

"Alright, I think I'm done," Kate declared, looking up at the woman sitting across from her.

Mary looked down at the napkins laying on the table, right next to their half-empty mugs of coffee. Kate had borrowed a pen from the waitress to scribble all her notes down more than an hour ago while Mary silently watched her.

"I may have forgotten a few details," Kate explained as she positioned all the napkins in a particular order. "But, I think that's enough," she looked up at Mary.

"That's the trip down your memory lane?" Mary inquired.

"Well, not really. But, that's as far as I can remember of what happened to me from today's date, October 19th, to the date when I got that breach in my car, October 21st."

"That's remarkable," Mary commented, tilting her head to read some of the papers. "You have a great memory."

"You just watched me bang my head on the table about twenty times on the table and curse at myself twice as times; my memory isn't that great, I just forced myself into remembering as many stuff as possible."

"Still, that's remarkable," Mary told her in a tone that showed that she meant it. Kate gave a little smile that Mary returned before she continued, "So, you said that once you're done with remembering all this, you would tell me your plan."

"I wouldn't really call this a plan, but it's just that I think that if we follow the other-me then we'll find out _what_ made the other-me to travel to your dimension in the first place," Kate explained.

"So, we're back to my theory of last night?" Mary asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, I think you were right: a thing or a creature must have made the other-me travel. And, if that's a creature, it can be the Opener of the Way, or a powerful Angel, or maybe even God. Because, like you pointed it out, the other-me didn't have the marble, and that's obviously the marble that made us travel through dimensions, yesterday."

"Right," Mary nodded, remembering the way the smokes inside the marble had swirled out when they were in the hospital room and then a dark hole had formed on the ceiling to aspire them in. "And, you want to confront that creature?" Kate gave a nod. "But, we don't need that creature to figure out how to get back. We have the Cleaner's marble that brought us here. And, you told me that it's composed of the essence of the three Guardians, so I'm pretty sure it's powerful enough to get us back without asking for another creature's help."

"Except we don't know how to use it, Mary," Kate replied. "Like I told you last night, if I had any idea of how to use it, then I would. But, it set off on its own."

"Not exactly," Mary replied before throwing a glance at the waitress who walked by them. "I think it set off because you made a wish," she continued in a whisper and Kate glanced at the waitress before returning her attention to the blonde. "Don't you remember? You were holding it in your hand and literally shouting that you wished to know what brought you to my world in the first place. And then it set off."

"I wish it were that simple," Kate half-murmured. "But, last night, I spent hours holding it in my hand and wishing for it to open a breach back to your universe. But, nothing happened," she gave a sad smile to Mary who simply sighed, turning her blue gaze to look at the waitress as she served a customer a few tables away from them. "But, it doesn't mean that nothing will ever happen. I think that by finding the creature that brought me to your universe in the first place, we can find a way back to your universe."

"Otherwise, there'll be a time paradox, huh?" Mary smirked.

"Exactly."

"Alright," Mary leaned towards the table. "Tell me," she nodded at the napkins.

"Alright, so I focused on today, tomorrow and after-tomorrow. As you can see on this first napkin, not much happens to me today except that I leave work earlier," she handed her a first napkin.

"Because of that call about your apartment in fire," Mary said, reading the words written on the napkin. "At 10:35 am," she looked up at the brunette. "You're so precise." Kate shrugged, grabbing her mug to take a sip of coffee. "And after finding out that your boyfriend is an asshole, you immediately drive to your mother's house and spend the night there." Kate nodded as she put down her mug.

"And, tomorrow," Kate began, sliding another napkin towards the blue-eyed woman. "I'll get fired in the morning and I'll drive back to my mother's place again. I'll spend my day there and the next day," she pointed at a third napkin. "I'll get in an argument with her and decide to drive up to Lawrence."

"Where your father's buried," Mary finished, remembering what Kate had told her the night before.

"Yeah," the brunette half-whispered, looking down while Mary watched her with sympathy.

"My father passed away, too," Mary gently said, causing Kate to look at her. "And, so did my mother. They were hunters. But, I guess you already knew all of that?" Kate gave a fainted nod. "You didn't say… How did your father pass away?"

"Cancer," Kate simply replied.

"That must have been hard," Mary commented softly. "Not only for him, but for you, too; to see him fighting such a terrible disease and... Just, that must have been really hard."

"It was… And, I felt so lonely, when he lost the battle," Kate admitted. "I felt as though I lost the only person who truly mattered for me. And, also the only person to who I truly mattered… I felt lonely and broken for months. I couldn't accept that he was gone. But then I… Then I got into your world and I met people who helped me get over my mourning. They helped me see life from a whole different perspective. They made me understand that I wasn't really alone... And, without even realizing it, I had accepted my father's death."

"What about your mother?"

"She… She and I never really got along," Kate briefly explained when the noise of a plate crashing into pieces on the floor made the two women whip their heads at the waitress.

When the brunette turned her head back to Mary, she found this latter already staring at her with a look full of sympathy.

"Alright," the blonde gave her a warm smile. "So, what do we do? We trail the other you and look around if there's any creature following her already?"

"That's the idea," Kate nodded.

"Okay, but I guess we'll need a car to follow her everywhere," Mary stated.

"We could steal a car?" Kate suggested.

"I made the promise not to pick a car's lock anymore when I got married," Mary replied, amusement curling her lips up into another smile.

"Can't your promise get broken while in another universe?" Kate asked and Mary tilted her head to the side, considering that question. "Wait," Kate whispered as an idea crossed her mind. "Maybe, we can borrow a car. I remember my boss leaves his keys at the reception so that he can get his personal assistant to drive his car to the wash, but he also sent me and other employees to do that a couple of times. All we had to do was write our names on a paper and give the boss' code to the guy at the reception."

"And, is there any chance that you remember the code?"

"123-987. An easy one to remember," Kate casually said, causing Mary to raise her eyebrows and scoff.

"What was that thing you were saying about your memory already?" Mary asked, giving a funny look to the brunette who rolled her eyes playfully.

"So," Kate drawled as she took the first napkin that Mary had put down and then glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall behind. "The other-me is supposed to rush out of this building in a couple of hours. I'll get the car about ten minutes before and we'll park it on the street just across the parking lot so that we can follow the other-me when it's time."

"So, we have to wait about two hours before you – I mean the _other_ you – gets that phone call about your apartment?"

"Mmh," Kate nodded before taking her mug for another sip of coffee while Mary watched her do.

"Do we get along?" Mary asked unexpectedly, causing the brunette to nearly choke on her drink.

"W-what?"

"In the future, do we get along?" Mary repeated with a smile.

"Mary, I can't –"

"I know," Mary interrupted her. "You can't tell me about the future. But, still, I feel like we got quite along since yesterday. We've got a good dynamic going on. So, in the future, I'm pretty sure we get along pretty well for me to have given you my ring." Kate didn't say anything as she just glanced down at the silver object that Mary had slipped back around her ring finger. "I'll give it back to you before you go back to the future of course," she added, looking down at the ring. "It's just… I'm happy to have it back around my finger… This past month has been quite hard between John and me. We've been arguing a lot about anything and everything," she started to twiddle the ring. "He even left home for a few days… He's been back for just two weeks now. I think we're doing better now. But, I… I haven't told him yet about my pregnancy. I'm a bit nervous about telling him this. So, maybe I'll tell him on Thanksgiving, or on Christmas," she gave a weak chuckle. "I even thought that the reason I couldn't find my ring lately was a sign that I had to wait before telling John. As though, this ring would give me the courage to tell him," she looked up at Kate who was already looking at her.

Kate did her best not to show the sadness that Mary's words had created within her. Dean had told the brunette that his father had discreetly taken the ring from his wife a few days before her death so that he could get it resized for Mary's finger. But, John didn't find the time to bring it at the ring shop until it became an unimportant task to do when Mary passed away.

"Kate… I know you can't tell me about the future, but… John and me, it's gonna be okay, right?" Mary asked, her voice full of hope as her eyes sparkled with tears. "He'll love me again like he used to, right?"

Kate reached out to rest her hand on top of Mary's. She gave a gentle pressure, her thumb caressing the back of her hand. "John loves you, Mary. He never stopped loving you and he'll never stop."

Mary smiled as a tear slid down her cheek, "Thank you, Kate. Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 26th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

While Sam and Martin were in the group session, Dean was trying to keep himself distracted in the lounge room by playing checkers with himself.

"King me!" He laughed, moving a piece.

"Eddie?" A feminine voice asked.

Dean looked up and he was quite surprised by what he saw. A fairly pretty curly brown-haired woman with bright blue eyes stood right next to his table. One glance at her clothing and he knew that she wasn't a patient. He didn't believe that a seemingly young woman could work at such a place.

"I'm Doctor Erica Cartwright," she introduced herself. "I've been assigned to your case."

"You're my shrink?" He smirked. "Heh. Lucky me."

The doctor opened her file as she replied, "And you're my... Paranoid schizophrenic with narcissistic personality disorder and religious psychosis." She closed her file and smiled at Dean. "Lucky me."

"Hmm," Dean turned his head back to the checkers laying in front of him.

"Can we talk?" She asked, sitting opposite Dean at the table.

"Yes," Dean answered, staring at her curly brown hair. "I actually got some questions for you."

"What a coincidence. I've got some for you, too," she smiled, causing Dean to shift his eyes to meet hers.

"Well, then... Quid pro quo, Clarice," he told her before sucking his bottom lip into his mouth a couple of times, just like Hannibal Lector.

"Okay, Hannibal. I'll go first. How many hours a night do you sleep?"

"Three or four, every couple of nights," he genuinely replied. "What can you tell me about the recent suicides in here?"

"They were tragic," she simply declared.

"But you haven't noticed anything... Strange, like, uh... I don't know, black smoke or sulfur?"

"No. Why? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Demon signs. I hunt demons, monsters, that kind of thing."

"How many drinks do you have a week?"

"Well, I gotta sleep sometime. So, uh, what's seven days' times – somewhere in the mid-fifties," he replied. "You ever feel any, uh, cold spots or get a chill walking through the hospital?"

"Not that I can remember. If I had?" The doctor inquired.

"It means there's a ghost around," Dean casually replied.

"Okay," she nodded. She studied his face for a second and then leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "When was the last time you were in a long-term relationship?"

"Define long-term," he told her.

"More than two months."

"Never."

"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"Really."

"Yet, you look like a girl is on your mind," she remarked with a corner smile.

"Doc, I got a different chick in my head every day," he smirked.

"No, no," she shook her head. "I'm talking about a particular one."

"Well, I don't know what you're talkin' about, but I'm more a _love 'em leave 'em_ guy."

"Yet, you keep souvenirs," she commented, throwing a glance at the hair-tie around his wrist. Dean looked down at his wrist and immediately slid his hands off the table. "Or maybe that's just a friend's?"

"I think that's my turn to ask a question," Dean said, completely ignoring her comment.

"Right," she replied and Dean watched her for a few seconds.

"Have the patients reported seeing anything weird?" Dean asked, breaking the short silence.

"In here?" She chuckled. "All the time."

"Right," Dean mumbled.

"So..." She leaned towards him. "Let's talk about your father."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I hope you all liked this new chapter!**

 **Since my dear ' Igotzapped' edited this first part of the 13** **th** **chapter, I decided to post it today instead of making you wait for the entire chapter. Actually, I feel like a chapter of 10k words can still be enjoyable although I feel like I stopped it too abruptly…**

 **If you could tell me what you thought of this chapter, its length and composition, that'd be great! I'm sorry I've been taking so long lately… I feel so bad, but I hope that the chapters are still as enjoyable as they used to be.**

 **Guest (January 18** **th** **,** **): I'm really happy you found chapter 12** **th** **wonderful and exciting. Thank you for leaving a review!**

 **Happymeami:** **Thank you for your PM and your review. Your words made my day – no, scratch that, they made my month! I hope your exams went well ;)**

 **Guest (January 21st):** **Thank you so very much! I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter and I'm sorry I made Mary's story even sadder than it already was… But, these chapters with Mary are actually the first ideas that I got when I started imagining this story in my head. And, although I changed a few things, I couldn't change that. About the Sam/OC story I told you guys about, I actually have been working on it (slowly) on the side, but I don't think I'll post it before a few months. I don't think I'd be able to handle my schedule if I start posting this story. So, please be patient :) Thanks again for your review!**

 **K:** **Sorry for the cliffhangers haha! I'm blushing at your words. I 'excel' at portraying Mary', really?! I made you cry, really?! Thank you! And, I'm glad you understood that during the scene with Sam and the notebook, he was sort of having a conversation with Kate (that's actually him thinking that she would tell him these kind of words). Thank you again!**

 **Rubyrose:** **Thank you so much for your review. I'm happy to know that although my story drives you nuts with the wait for the characters' pairings, you still enjoy it and all of its plot twists :)! I promise you'll get that pairing and it would have been worth the wait! The papercut… Mmh, well you notice every little detail, don't you? About that papercut, I think you'll have to wait for the next part of this chapter to find out ;)! Thank you for making me smile with your review!**

 **RomaineSweetheart** **: I don't wanna stress anyone out, I just want my story to not be too boring! I'm happy that you love it, though! Kate's guilt will only grow and grow during her journey with Mary Winchester. I don't want to make it seem as though Sam and Dean can't live without Kate, but I want to show that during her time with them, she brought them something so different and so human that losing her is like losing one of the only lights that there's in their dark lives. But, don't worry, I'm pretty sure that Dean and Kate will reunite; I mean they still have to get together, right? ;) Thank you very much for your review!**

 **Guest (February, 1** **st** **):** **Thank you for the review! I'm happy you like where I'm taking my story so far!**

 **Sally:** **Thank you very much! I'm glad that you find my writing of the duo Kate and Mary fantastic! You'll see on the next part if we'll get to see Kate's cousin, ex-boyfriend, mother or someone else ;)**

 **Once again, thank you all for reading and watch out guys because I plan to post the rest next weekend!**

 **Take great care,**

 **A.**


	14. Chapter 14

**My sincere apologies if you cross paths with typos or grammar mistakes, but this chapter wasn't betaread… Well, it was, but it was by myself… But, I promised to post this chapter this weekend no matter what, so here you go!**

 **I hope you will enjoy it. Don't hold back any thoughts and send them to me in the shape of a little review once you're done reading ;)**

 **This chapter contains elements from the episode '** _ **Sam, Interrupted**_ **' (5x11)**

 **Universe One** **: The Supernatural Universe.**

 **Universe Two** **: Kate's Universe.**

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

Standing right at the exit of the parking lot of her old working place, Kate glanced down at her watch. It was almost time for her past-self to receive that call that would make her rush out of the building in order to go to her apartment. The fact that the brunette could remember that day so clearly and so precisely was due to the fact that when she landed at Bobby's, she had spent days and days thinking about the week preceding her dimensional traveling. It was that time when all she wanted to do was find a way back to her universe. And although Kate had never really stopped looking for answers during the following months, she had still come to a point where she didn't feel as eager to return to her universe as she used to.

No matter how dangerous and scary Bobby Singer's universe was, Kate had come to feel more at home there than in her own universe. The people she had met, the things she had seen and the adventures she had been through. All of these things had helped her in more ways than she could ever say. Sadly, it took her to return in her universe, away from the world she had been living in for months, to realize how much different it all was.

The beeping of her watch pulled her out of her thoughts. It was time. Her past-self would be running out of the building in two minutes. Kate threw a glance at the building before quickly crossing the street to get to the car in which Mary was waiting for her. She opened the driver's door and slid into the seat behind the steering wheel.

"Almost time," Mary remarked from the passenger seat she was sitting in.

"Yeah," Kate replied, turning the keys to start the car.

"Did you know that your boss had a mini-fridge in his car, too?" Mary asked her, sparks of wonder in her eyes.

After Kate had made Mary go to the reception of her old working place to get her former boss' car by using the name of Kate Anderson and the boss' code, the blonde had spent some time checking the car. Back in 1983, cars with GPS and phone didn't exist yet, so Mary was quite thrilled when she saw all of these new technologies.

Kate turned to look at Mary who held up a little bottle, "Some sparkling water?" The brunette couldn't help but chuckle. "What?"

"Nothing," Kate smiled, but the truth was that for a moment Mary reminded her of Dean.

"You're sure about the date and the time, huh?" Mary asked, unscrewing the bottle to drink a sip.

"I remember as though it was yesterday. My office's phone rang while I was watching the hands of the main clock tickling," Kate explained. She raised a finger up and said, "It was 10:35. No more, no less."

"So, the Other-You is supposed to get out in one minute upmost," Mary replied as she capped the bottle back before putting it on the dashboard.

"Yeah," Kate turned her head and looked over the building and the parking lot.

After a minute, the brunette looked down at her watch and frowned. Her past-self was taking a little bit longer than she was supposed to, and that was noticed by Mary as well.

"Uh," Mary glanced down at her own watch. "Alright. What's your office's number?" Kate turned to her and frowned when she saw the blonde holding the car's phone in her hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna give the Other-You a ring to hurry her up a little," Mary just replied. "Come on, your number."

"Mary –"

"Come on, I'm sure you remember your office's number," the retired hunter interrupted Kate who ended up telling her the number of her old office. "It's ringing," Mary told her and Kate sighed, turning her head to look over at the building. "Kate? Kaitlin Anderson?" The brunette glanced at the blonde before returning her attention to the building. "What are you still doing there? What about the fire in your apartment? Didn't you just receive a call about that? ... What do you mean no one called you?" Kate frowned as she turned again to look at Mary who was faking panic in her voice. "Well, it's on fire, girl, and it seems that your boyfriend is in there. Call him, you'll see he won't reply –" She cut herself off and then looked up to meet Kate's brown eyes and stated "She hung up on me." Kate slightly frowned at her. "We're not on time, but I think she's gonna run out of that place in less than a minute," Mary added, shifting her gaze to look over at the building.

" _No_. We're on time," Kate breathed out, causing Mary to look at her with a confused face. "The clock back in my office, it was… It was late of a couple of minutes," she explained what she had just remembered. "You're the stranger who called me…" She trailed off, still taken aback by what just happened.

"What? How – " Mary began before cutting herself abruptly when her eyes caught glimpse of the past-Kate rushing to her car. "She's here!" She pointed towards the window for Kate to turn and see.

The instant Kate saw her old, greyish blue car rush out of the parking lot, she stepped on the gas and followed her past-self.

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 27th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

It had been a day since Sam and Dean checked into that psychiatric hospital, both not quite sure that there truly was a case in this place. But, after seeing the sucked-dry brain of one dead patient the previous night, their doubts completely vanished away. That got them to spend the entire night awake and thinking in their respective rooms as they impatiently waited to join Martin in the lounge room the next day. Once with him, the two brothers told him about their findings and he quickly figured out what creature they were dealing with: a wraith. Although Martin had never tangled with one before, he knew these feeding-on-brain-juice creatures and he knew how to kill them: silver. The only hitch was that these creatures could pass as humans and only the mirror could reflect their true form.

That was the reason why Dean went to stand at the corner of the lounge room for some while. There he could watch everyone, from the staff to the patients, and find out who the wraith was thanks to a round mirror up in the corner by the ceiling. The clicking sound of heels approaching him made him glance to his left, only to find the good-looking Doctor Cartwright smiling at him.

"What's up, Doc?" Dean greeted her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You tell me," she replied, glancing up at the round mirror Dean was fixing at.

"Hunting," he replied, turning his green gaze to her. "A wraith, actually. Could be anybody."

"So, I could be a monster?" She inquired, causing Dean to check her image in the mirror. She looked perfectly normal.

"No, you're clean," he stated.

"Why you?"

"Why me, what?" Dean looked at her.

"Why do you have to hunt monsters?" She asked, looking right into his eyes. "Why not let someone else do it?"

Dean shrugged and smiled, "Can't find anybody else that dumb." The doctor watched him as he looked away, his face wearing a thoughtful expression. "It's my job. Somebody's gotta save people's asses, yours included."

"So, is there a quota?" She asked, causing him to look at her again. "How many people do you have to save?"

"All of them," he replied with no hesitation because that truly was the way he felt. He had to save these billions of people. It was his job. It was his responsibility. He couldn't fail. Not again.

"All of them?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You think you have to save everyone?"

"Yep. Whole wide world of sports."

"How?"

Dean took a deep breath, licked his lips and turned to look at her. He didn't want to answer this question. As a matter of fact, he didn't want to answer to half her questions. She didn't make him feel comfortable enough for him to open up about these kind of things. Her blue eyes were too bright and too professional. There was no warm. No softness. No sincerity. None of these things that he had gotten so accustomated with over the past year. And, it was all because _she_ was gone.

"Believe me, whatever you've got, I've heard weirder," the doctor said, taking him out of his thoughts. He refocused his eyes on her and blinked when he saw her biting down on her lip.

The way she did it, it clearly wasn't a seductive action. But, it enchanted Dean as it reminded him yet again of the impossible girl who left way too soon. His green eyes traveled to the doctor's hair and he noticed all of sudden that her long curls were now shoulder-length – just like _hers_ before she left.

"You got a new hair-cut?"

"Yesterday, after work," Doctor Cartwright confirmed. "But, don't change the topic, Dean. Tell me."

The hunter shifted his gaze from her hair to her blue eyes. Too blue. Not brown enough. Not brown _at all_.

"Come on," she softly said with a tilt of her head.

He sighed as he gave in, "It's the end of the world, okay? I mean, it's a damn Biblical apocalypse, and if I don't stop it and save everyone, then no one will, and we all die."

"That's horrible," she commented with a little frown.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he replied, turning to look up at the mirror.

"I mean, Apocalypse or no Apocalypse... Monsters or no monsters, that's a crushing weight to have on your shoulders," she developed and he looked at her. "To feel like six billion lives depend on you... God... How do you get up in the morning?" Dean stared at her for a moment as he was hit by the hard truth of her words.

"That's a good question," he nearly murmured, his fingers quickly reaching for the hair-tie around his left wrist while the woman watched him do.

"Hello, Eddie," Doctor Fuller greeted as he passed by.

"Uh, Doc," Dean replied before looking up at the mirror to check the doctor's image. He was instantly taken off guard when he saw an ugly decaying face with matted hair instead of the normal look of Doctor Fuller.

Doctor Fuller was the wraith.

Pushing away from the wall and burying all his pain and guilt away, Dean watched Doctor Fuller walk down the hall.

His hand dropped away from the hair-tie.

He had work to do.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 19th, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

When her parents got killed by a demon, Mary left the hunting life, promising herself to never step back in it. She had always wanted to run away from that world that she hated so much. But it was the death of her parents that proved to her how terrible that life was. It wasn't that easy for her to start a new life. She had to lose all of her hunter's reflexes. The truth was that for years she had struggled not to care too much whenever she came across a bizarre article on the newspapers. For years she had to learn not to quickly grab a sharp object when she heard a faint, weird noise. But the worst of it all were the lies to her husband. Night after night she had to reassure him that her screams at night were nothing and that her nightmares were too stupid to be told. Day after day she had to tell him that she was alright after going through a panic attack. But, John never stopped taking care of her. He held her tight at night until she was no longer trembling and he kissed her tenderly at day until she was smiling with her full heart.

For years, John was her rock.

Then, all of sudden, a month ago, after John had some problem at the garage he worked in, he became grumpy. He and Mary started arguing for the slightest things until he left their home. Mary's world seemed to crash at that moment. The articles on the newspapers appealed her interest so much that she began giving anonymous calls to hunters so that they could take care of those cases. When Sam or Dean's toy dropped on the floor with a fainted noise she would grab the closest object, ready to fight. And, the nightmares were back. She once screamed so loud that little Dean awoke and ran to her in the middle of the night. The worst of it all was that this time around she had to lie to her son. She had to reassure him that she was alright when the truth was that she wasn't. That was the night when she pulled herself back together and buried back her old life to the past.

It was as though she had been given a second chance when John came back the following day. Since then, they had been slowly forging back what made their home a peaceful place full of love. So surely, when Kate had reassured her that her marriage would be okay in the future, Mary had felt as though the biggest relief had washed over her.

John would remain her rock in the future.

No matter what would bring the hunting world back to Mary in the future and no matter how long or short the hunting world would be back for, John would never stop loving her.

That thought comforted her even though she had first thought that it was all truly over.

Sure, Kate hadn't told her exactly what the future would be like for Mary and her family. But, the blonde understood that the hunting world had to catch her back for Kate to know her in the future. All she hoped for was for was for her family to not be involved.

It was weird how a week ago, she thought that the hunting life really was behind her, and now she was living the unexplainable just like she used to. As a matter of fact, it was even madder than what she was used of living in the past.

Today, she was in a whole other universe; in which she had spent a good couple of hours trailing the past-self of the woman who had saved her son. No matter how many explanations the brunette had given, the situation was still crazy for Mary. It was so crazy that Mary couldn't help but act as the hunter she used to be.

Once they had trailed the Past-Kate until the latter went to her mother's place after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, Mary showed to Kate how to spy on the other Kate without getting caught on. And, after Kate had told Mary that the neighbor across the street was an old lady who was never there during the week, the blonde broke her old promise as she broke into the empty house so that they could have a place to stay at while keeping an eye on the other Kate.

It had now been hours since they started squatting the house. They had tried to make some spells with the few ingredients that they had found in the kitchen, in vain. Magic didn't work in this universe simply because magic didn't exist. After accepting that fact, the brunette had gone upstairs to look for an object that she knew her neighbor had and that she knew would be very useful for their time of watching the other Kate across the street. Meanwhile, Mary was in the kitchen trying to cook dinner with the few things that she found.

"I got it!" Kate announced as she walked down the stairs.

Mary walked out of the kitchen, a wooden spoon in one hand, and looked over at the brunette who settled a telescope in front of the large window that gave out on Kate's mother's house.

"You know how to get it to work?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Smith used to let me borrow it once in a while," Kate replied as she fiddled with the object.

"Good," Mary simply remarked before Kate glanced at her.

"What are you cooking?" She asked as she saw the red sauce coloring the oval part at the end of the handle.

"Tomato rice soup," Mary replied, causing Kate to freeze as a flashback took hold of her.

" _When I got sick, my mother used to make tomato-rice soup."_

That was what Dean had confided to Kate when he was sick a while ago.

"Don't look at me like that, I cook excellent tomato rice soup."

"I don't doubt it," Kate replied in a little voice before clearing her throat. "But, um, why didn't you cook something more simple? A tomato salad would've taken much less time."

"I know, but I wanted to cook something that reminded me of home," Mary admitted. "My mother used to cook me that when I got sick and I kind of kept up with the tradition. She'd add four pinches of cinnamon to enhance the flavor. But, my little Dean prefers when I put only three." A reminiscing smile crossed her lips for a second before a sad expression appeared all over her face. "Dean gets sick pretty often. Always taking his scarf or hat off when the weather's bad and then coming back home, running a temperature and asking for mommy's soup," she finished, the little smile coming back on her lips.

A few other pieces of memory from that day back in Kansas City flashed in the back of the brunette's head.

" _I ain't Superman, Kaitlin. I've already caught a bug several times in my life; I just never let it slow me down on a hunt…"_

" _I've been ill quite a few times when I was a kid and my mother was still…"_

" _I remember her bringing me that soup to bed, and humming that song she used to sing me and Sam to sleep. I remember her wiping my sweat away the same way you did, I remember the peach perfume of her hair as she leaned down to kiss my head and… I remember feeling good. I was ill, puking my guts out, but I was feeling good…"_

" _I was feeling good, because she was taking care of me..."_

Kate blinked away these images and then, in attempt to change the topic that was slowly causing her heart to ache, she asked, "So, cinnamon is your secret recipe?"

"Secret recipe?" Mary chuckled. "I wouldn't really say that, but that's definitely a must-have recipe in a kitchen. It's even good for pies."

"You mean cinnamon-pie."

"No, all kind of pie," Mary replied. "Three pinches of cinnamon and you get the best pie. No matter if it's apple, cherry or pecan pie."

"Pecan pie?" Kate lightly grimaced. "I never tasted this one."

"Really? It's Dean's favorite," the blonde replied. "And, actually, I got a secret recipe for pies. Vanilla. A simple teaspoon of vanilla extract in the filling. It's –" Mary was interrupted by the beeping of the timer in the kitchen, announcing that the soup was ready. "Time for dinner," she smiled at Kate before making her way back into the kitchen.

Kate stood still on her spot. The more time she spent with Mary, the more she learned about her. And, the more she learned about Mary, the guiltier she felt. There was so much hope and so much life in this woman that her fate was starting to look like a rueful doom. Undoubtedly, Kate wanted to change that. She wanted to save Mary. But, she knew that she couldn't, and it was slowly killing her. It was simply killing her.

"Kate," Mary called from the kitchen and Kate immediately went there. The instant she stepped into the doorway, she saw that Mary was already serving two bowls. "Maybe we should eat by the window so that we can still keep an eye on the other you and the area around?"

"Good idea," Kate agreed as she watched the blonde serving. "It smells really good."

"I hope you'll like it," Mary smiled up at her.

"I'm sure I'll do."

"Do you cook?" Mary casually asked, putting the first bowl on one of the two little trays, on which there was a spoon, an apple and long glass of water.

"Um, not really. But, on a good _and_ lucky day, I can cook pretty good pasta," Kate replied as she took the first tray. "Though, without cinnamon."

"Cinnamon isn't necessary in every recipe," Mary told her as she took her own tray and followed the brunette into the living room. "Although, it's quite good in pasta sauce."

"You sound like a real chief," Kate commented as they passed by the long table to get to the couch nearby the window and the telescope Kate had just settled down. The women sat down on the couch, putting their trays on the little coffee table.

"We actually don't know each other that much in the future, do we?" Mary asked, taking the brunette by surprise.

"What makes you say that?" Kate frowned as she looked at the blonde.

"I don't know," Mary lightly shrugged. "It's just that sometimes, you seem to know me, to understand me and even to care about me. Then, there are times when you look at me as though… As though I'm a stranger. A fragile stranger that you're afraid to bruise or harm in any way. But, still a stranger… I can't help but wonder who you are for me in the future. You have to be someone important if I gave you my ring."

"Mary, I—" Kate began hesitantly.

"I know," the blonde gently cut her off. "You can't tell me about the future. But, you can't blame me for having a hundred questions running in my head, huh?" Kate gave a little nod before turning to the food. "By the way, sorry to tell you this, but you made a little slip the other day."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, moving her gaze to look at Mary who was biting down on her lip as she tried to hold back a grin.

"You told me I could be proud of my _boys_ ," Mary replied before taking a spoon of soup up while Kate just watched her. "I would be lying if I didn't say that I wished it was a little girl this time around. But, as long as he's healthy, another little boy is as much of a blessing," she smiled as she put the spoon in her mouth.

Kate didn't say a word, her brown eyes dropping down to Mary's belly and her heart aching as she was reminded that on November 2nd two persons would die, burning on the ceiling.

Not just Mary Winchester.

But, Mary Winchester and her unborn baby.

* * *

 _ **October 27th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

After Dean had warned Sam and Martin that Doctor Fuller was the wraith they were looking for, the two brothers waited for the night to come so that they could get a hold of the creature. Since Martin wasn't feeling capable to help them on the hunt, Sam and Dean had to cover the field on their own. Dean took the east wing of the hospital while Sam took the west wing, both had a silver-plated knife in hand.

Noiselessly, the younger Winchester walked down a hallway, looking in each room he passed. When he came to another hallway, he looked around the corner and spotted Doctor Fuller heading his way. Sam instantly stood up against the wall to hide himself, he clenched his hand around the knife and waited for the doctor to get closer.

It had been a while since they had gone hunting. It had been more than a while actually. Ever since Carthage, Sam and Dean had spent their time at Bobby's place. While Dean did his own things, Sam tried to keep himself busy by putting all his energy in doing research. It was the best way he had found to avoid enduring the pain and guilt that kept scratching the hole inside of him. Sure, it wasn't as intense as it had been at first. Sam knew that he had to be strong for his brother so he did his best to keep that in mind. However, culminating all these feelings inside of him so that he could be strong for Dean, was slowly taking its toll on him. Sam felt like something was boiling inside of him, desperate to explode to the outside.

When Doctor Fuller coughed, Sam shook his thoughts away and that was the exact moment when the doctor rounded the corner. Sam immediately stepped forward to jump on him with the knife. The doctor yelled when the blade cut his arm. Sam was going for another swing when two orderlies came out of nowhere and grabbed him. They started to drag him away, but the hunter struggled. The determination to kill that monster plus the _thing_ boiling inside of him gave him enough strength to throw off one orderly and punch the other.

Sam could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his heartbeats echoing louder and louder in his ears.

When one of the orderlies approached Sam, the latter quickly grabbed him and knocked his head into a window, shattering it. The other orderly jumped on him and Sam naturally fought back.

Sam felt like fighting against demons. He didn't hold back his punches. Truth be told, he couldn't hold them back if he tried. Something raw was boiling inside of him, making him want – _need_ – to use his full strength against these people.

When Doctor Fuller started to run away, the young hunter violently pushed away the orderly he was fighting with. He grabbed the knife from the ground and ran after the doctor.

It wasn't long for Sam to catch the doctor and tackle him down to the floor. The doctor yelped with a fear that Sam didn't even notice. His heartbeats were too loud in his ears for him to hear the doctor beg him to stop as Sam raised the blade.

Right when Sam was going to stab the doctor, his arm was grabbed back.

"No! No!" Martin shouted at Sam who tried to pull his arm away so that he could finish his job. "Look at his arm. That cut's not burning." Sam looked at the cut, only to see that Martin was indeed right. "It's not him. It's not him."

Sam moved his gaze up to look at the doctor's face as the drumming sound of his heartbeats began to decrease in his ears. The stunned expression on Doctor Fuller's face caused Sam to understand what he almost did.

He almost killed an innocent man.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 20th, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

Mary was sitting in front of the large window of the living room, one hand on the telescope as she was watching the Past-Kate pacing back and forth in her living room while talking animatedly on the phone. The blonde pulled slightly away from the object and yawned. She was exhausted after the long night she and the brunette had spent.

Indeed, the previous night, Kate and Mary had alternated keeping an eye on the Other-Kate with the telescope and making rounds in the neighborhood in the search of a hidden creature. There hadn't been a soul out there and as for the Other-Kate, all she had done was drink herself to sleep after watching hours of television. When it was Kate's turn to inspect the streets, Mary had checked the schedule of the brunette's past-self. Apparently, everything was happening quite accurately as it was supposed to happen.

Mary, who had wondered about the absence of Kate's mother in the house, found her explanation on one of the napkins: the woman was on a job trip at that moment and would only return on the morning of October 21st. No matter how many times Mary tried to bring the subject up, Kate hadn't wanted to talk much about her mother. All she had let out was that she and her mother never got along.

In fact, the brunette was so against the idea of talking about her mother that she even decided to follow the other Kate on her own that morning so that she could avoid the conversation. Little did Mary know that by doing so Kate was also trying to avoid the conversations about Mary and her tragic fate.

"I'm back," Kate's voice announced, pulling Mary out of her thoughts.

The blonde turned to look at the doorway as the brown-head stopped there, taking her shoes off.

"You were quick," Mary remarked sarcastically, causing Kate to slightly scoff.

After following her past-self to her old working place, Kate had followed her past-self as she made her way back to her mother's place. Then, Kate had returned to the house she and Mary were squatting. However, she didn't stay more than a few minutes with the blonde as she quickly went to park her former boss' car somewhere near her old work place.

"I left my boss' car about 10 minutes away from the building and then I had some trouble finding a car that I could break into in a matter of seconds. But I got us one," Kate explained. "Oh and by the way, _now_ I know why I got fired."

"Mmh?" Mary frowned.

"Well, you know I told you I'd get fired on October 20th," Kate began as she finished taking her shoes off.

"Yeah, and that's also the reason why the Other-You is going crazy on the phone over there," Mary nodded towards the window, indicating the house across.

"Exactly," Kate nodded as she shrugged her jacket off. "If I remember well, I'm – well, the Other-Me," she corrected herself. "Is currently cursing at people for accusing me – well, _her_ – for stealing the big boss' car."

"Oh," Mary let out as she understood.

"Yep," Kate gave a nod with raised eyebrows before tossing her jacket on the floral couch just three steps on Mary's left.

"So, your job meant more than your boyfriend or what?" Mary asked, in a curious tone as Kate slowly sat on the couch.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, looking at her with frowned eyebrows.

"Well, the Other-You seems more upset about losing her job than having a heartbreak," Mary noted and Kate gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"It wasn't a heartbreak," Kate simply replied and Mary looked at her, silently telling her to develop. "Um, I wasn't in love with Peter. He came around when I wasn't at my best. I had just lost my father and I… Um, that was also the time when I found refuge in alcohol. I drank a lot. More than I could ever admit. But, I needed it. I needed to drink down my loss, my pain. And that's when Peter came with his great and charming words that could make any girl's knees go weak. But, he wasn't making my knees weak; he wasn't making me weak at all. He was making me feel alive. Or at least, I thought so. He was making me forget about my sadness. Actually, thinking about it, I realize that he was… He was _convenient_ ," Kate looked down, ashamed by her own words. "The truth is that for a long time, I thought he was the one who used me. But, it wasn't only him. It was me, too. I used him. I was so afraid of being alone again that I became a selfish and terrible human being," Kate was ashamed but she still lifted her head to meet Mary's gentle blue gaze. "He may have cheated on me, but the truth is that I cheated on myself long before."

"You still had some feelings for him, didn't you?" Mary asked in a soft murmur.

"I can't say I was in love with him, because honestly I don't even know what it really is to be in love," Kate nervously chuckled. "But, I'd be lying if I told you that I hadn't grown attached to him."

"He wasn't that bad of a guy for a cheating asshole," Mary commented with a tiny smile.

"We can put it that way," Kate let out a breathy chuckle.

"So, no remorse that I called you, then?" Mary inquired and Kate lightly frowned. "The stranger call about the apartment in fire. Ring a bell?"

"Yeah, right," Kate nodded before a thought crossed her mind. "Now that you mention it," she started, biting down on her lip. "I used to remember these few days as one hell of a few days. Running out of work because someone told me my apartment was on fire, but then finding out that my boyfriend is cheating on me. And, then getting fired the next day. And the argument with my mother tomorrow…" She trailed off as Mary watched the pensive expression increase on the brunette's face. "It's like now I get to know the other half of the story. And, there's _**you**_ on the other half. I mean, you're the stranger who called me and you're the one who pretended to be me at my work place to get the car, getting me fired in the process," Kate raked her upper teeth on her bottom lip. "All the pieces are slowly falling into place," she added in almost a whisper.

"That's good, isn't it?" Mary asked, causing Kate to look at her. "It means we're on the right track to get our way back."

Kate didn't say anything but as she stared at Mary, all she could think of now was what Chronos had told her.

" _The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."_

What if there was no creature waiting for the right moment to send her past-self to that other universe?

What if there never was any creature?

What if it was Mary Winchester all along?

But, _how_?

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 27th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

Dean walked down the hallway, glancing at the people he passed by. He couldn't understand how he had mistaken Doctor Fuller for the wraith. He was sure that he had seen the creature in the mirror and yet when Sam attacked him with the silver-plated knife, nothing happened. All of that meant one thing: the creature was still walking freely in the hospital. With Sam put away in a room because of his violence against the hospital staff and with Martin too afraid to face the wraith, Dean was on his own to do the job before another patient became a victim.

"You missed our session today," Doctor Cartwright remarked as she joined Dean in his walk.

"A little busy," Dean replied, glancing at her.

"Still hunting that wraith?" She asked as they walked through a large doorway.

"People are dying."

"People die all the time," she responded.

"Look, lady, why don't you just let me do my job, maybe save your life."

"It's not my life that I'm worried about," the doctor explained, which exasperated Dean.

"Oh, my G– I am fine, okay?" He nearly snapped, stopping in the middle of the corridor to press his fingers on his eyelids. "I'm fine."

"Come on, even you don't believe that," she told him as he rubbed his eyelids. "All this pressure that you're putting yourself under, all this guilt; it's killing you," she told him and he slid his hand down his face before opening his eyes to look at her.

Dean instantly froze when his green eyes met brown eyes.

"Wait… Didn't you have blue eyes?" He asked with a frown.

"Don't pretend that's what bothering you. You know that the real matter is that you can't save everybody. You can't," she declared softly. Dean stared at her, still confused by the color of her eyes when she finished in a hard voice, "Hell, these days, you can't save anybody, _Dean_."

"What did you say?" He asked as she turned around, ready to leave.

She turned back to him, "The truth, Dean. You got Ellen and Jo killed. You shot Lucifer, but you couldn't gank him. You couldn't stop Sam from killing Lilith, and – oh, yeah – you broke the first seal. All you do is fail. And that is why _she_ left you," she sharply told him, her brown eyes slowly taking the shapes of the ones he loved the most. "Did you really think that you, Dean Winchester with a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, were gonna beat the devil?" Dean started to get confused and afraid. This woman couldn't know all these things. She just couldn't. "Please. The world is gonna burn, and there is nothing that you can do about it. Kaitlin knew that; she knew that you were only gonna fail again. She knew that you weren't worthy. This is why the second she had the chance to leave, she ran; ran away from you and your pathetic little self."

"Who are you?" Dean demanded, anger starting to wrap around his fear and confusion. "How do you know that stuff?" He half-shouted, causing an orderly who was sorting laundry a few feet away, to look up at him.

"Hey, settle down," the orderly instructed.

"Tell me!" Dean shouted, taking a step closer to Doctor Cartwright.

The orderly walked around his cart of laundry and approached Dean, "I said, settle down."

"Who are you?" Dean whispered to the brunette standing in front of him, his eyes scanning her face as he backed away from her. He looked over at the orderly and pointed at her as he asked, "Who is she?"

"Who?" The orderly asked.

"What are you, blind?" Dean shouted, pointing at the doctor again. "Her!"

"Pal, there's nobody there," the orderly calmly stated.

It rooted Dean to the spot as he slowly shifted his gaze back to Doctor Cartwright. She wore a twisted smile, her brown eyes back to looking blue and cold; _terribly_ cold and heartless.

"I'm not real, Dean," she told him, still smiling. "If you had waited a little bit longer, I would have looked like _her_. I would have looked exactly like her. And, you would've liked it. Yes, I'm not real, Dean. I'm in your head... Because you are going crazy."

Dean could feel a lump form in his throat when the brown-haired doctor suddenly vanished into thin air. He looked around the hallway, feeling as though his sanity had vanished as well.

It couldn't happen to him.

There was something wrong with this place.

He couldn't go crazy all of sudden.

Something wrong was happening.

He couldn't lose his sanity all of sudden.

Something really _wrong_ was happening.

Dean looked over at the orderly and then swallowed down the lump of fear that was threatening to choke him. He clenched his jaw as he wrapped his hand around his wrist; just above the hair-tie. "Just leave me alone," he told the orderly before stalking down the hallway.

Dean felt the need to get away from that corridor. He had to find Martin. He had to ask him for help. Or maybe he could get to call Bobby. Bobby would know what to do. Bobby always knew what to do. Bobby would get him and Sam out of that place.

As he passed a couple of nurses, Dean couldn't help but glance at the mirror on the other side and that made him flinch as he saw that both the nurses looked like wraiths. He started to tremble, sweat forming on his forehead, as he curled his fingers around the hairband, nearly pulling at it.

He had to get Sam and himself out of that place.

Something wrong was happening in this hospital.

His heartbeats were starting to get loud in his ears, nearly too loud, and also too hard against his ribcage.

He had to get out of that place. He wasn't crazy. It was this place, it wasn't him.

As he passed a couple of patients, he looked up at the mirror and saw that they looked like wraiths, too. He pulled at the hairband as he quickly passed them.

Something was wrong with this place. It was this place, it wasn't him.

The corridors were too bright. They were too long and too short at the same time, and also too large and too narrow at the same time.

Dean had to get out of that place.

He had to get out.

He went for a door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

Suddenly, his lungs seemed to forget how to work. He started to pant as though air was lacking from his entire body. He backed into a corner, right next to the door and slid down to the floor.

Something was wrong with this place. It was this place, it wasn't him.

Usually, everything was on him. But, this time he knew it wasn't his fault. He brought his hands up to his face, closed his eyes shut and rested his wrist with the hair-tie against his lips.

Something was wrong with this place.

It wasn't him this time. It wasn't his fault this time.

It wasn't.

"It is. It's always your fault, Dean," Doctor Cartwright's voice said in his head.

"No," he mumbled against the hairband.

It wasn't. It wasn't. It wasn't.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

In the very early morning, Mary blinked a couple of times, and awoke. Her blue eyes stared at the ceiling for a few seconds as she slid her bandaged hand up to caress her belly. When she turned her head to the side, she was surprised not to find Kate settled in front of the telescope. Sitting up Mary looked around the living room until she spotted the brunette's shoes next to the doorway leading to the hallway. She glanced down at her watch, and stood up. She went to the kitchen, only to find it empty. However, she noticed that the backdoor was ajar so she walked out, hoping to find the brunette in the backyard. She went to the middle of the backyard and looked around before frowning when there was, once again, no sign of Kate.

The blonde turned around, ready to make her way back inside the house when she finally saw the brunette sitting on the roof of the house.

"Good morning," Mary greeted, causing the young woman to look down at her.

"Hey," Kate simply said back.

"What are you doing up there?" Mary asked as she glanced at the ladder at Kate's feet. "I thought we were supposed to keep an eye on the Other-You?"

"The Other-Me won't wake up before a couple of hours," The brunette reassured in a thoughtful tone, her eyes focused on the beautiful sight in the distance.

"What about the creature? Or the entity? If there's one, we might be missing it right now," Mary explained.

"As long as we follow my past-self when she drives to Lawrence, I'm sure it's gonna be okay."

"If you say so," Mary replied, studying the young woman.

"Have you ever watched the sunrise?" Kate asked after a moment of silence. Mary turned to look over at the sunrise that she could still see without going up on the roof like Kate.

"That's something that I used to do a lot, yes," Mary replied, her eyes glued to the beautiful sight of the sky filling with a myriad shades of orange and red as the blue and purple colors slowly disappeared. "It's so ordinary, yet so extraordinary, isn't it?"

Kate remained quiet. Mary was right. It was extremely ordinary, but at the same time, it was beyond extraordinary. The brunette had never taken time to watch the sunrise when she used to live in this universe. The first time she had ever watched the sunrise was back in Mary's universe. It was months ago. Kate could remember so clearly that day.

She was sitting right outside the motel room she was sharing with Sam and Dean, in a balcony-hallway that gave out to the parking lot and the clear horizon.

Then, Dean had joined her, sitting right next to her.

She could remember the way he watched the sunrise for a moment. The traits of his profile were so hard, yet so gentle. His jawline showed a big strength while his full lips showed a deep tenderness. His freckles made him look so young and innocent while his emerald green eyes did the contrary. His eyes had always been filled with many memories; most of which were sad and painful. But, still that didn't diminish the beauty of his eyes, nor of his face.

He looked beautiful.

He _was_ beautiful.

And, since that day, Kate had noticed something different in Dean's eyes. The tiny glimpse of hope that she had caught a very few times before, wasn't that tiny anymore. It was nearly as visible as the pain of his green eyes.

And strangely enough, that made him even more beautiful.

"Today's the big day… How do you feel?" Mary inquired, pulling Kate out of her thoughts.

"I don't know," the young woman admitted, glancing down at the blonde.

"You don't know?" Mary asked in a tone of surprise. "We're going to find out what made you travel the first time around. And by doing so we're going to get our way back to my world. This means that after giving the marble to Chronos, you'll finally be able to get back here. Aren't you happy to know that you'll get to watch more of these sunrises?"

"There are sunrises in your universe, too," the brown-head simply pointed out, looking down at the blonde who shrugged before turning her gaze back to the sunrise.

"It's true that they're not that different," Mary stated.

"Actually, they are," Kate declared in a wistful tone, her brown eyes still glued to the sunrise, as though trying to memorize it.

Mary crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side as she watched the colors change.

"Yours are much more beautiful," Kate whispered as her mind flashed her the image of Dean watching the sunrise that long gone day. " _So_ much more."

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 28th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

Standing in the room he was put away to, Sam was lost in his thoughts as his hazel eyes looked out the window. He couldn't believe what had happened the day before. He couldn't believe what he had done. He couldn't believe that he had almost killed a man. It was as though he had lost all control of himself. As though a force had taken control of his entire self.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Doctor Fuller and an orderly entering the room; not until the doctor spoke up.

"You asked to see me?"

Sam spun around, relieved that he could see the doctor after what he did to him. Shame and guilt burned inside of him when he met the hard and distrusted look that Doctor Fuller was giving him. When they first got to this place, Sam had noticed that while the rest of the hospital staff seemed to stick with strict professionalism, Doctor Fuller had always acted different. He was professional yet very gentle with his patients. His eyes used to hold some kind of compassion and understanding that Sam had found quite comforting. But, now, there was none of it.

"Yeah," Sam replied in a little voice. "Thanks. I, um... I just wanted to apologize. I feel horrible about what I did to you. I thought you were a monster."

"I know that. The question is, _why_?"

"I was..." Sam began before sighing. "It doesn't matter, um... Because after what happened last night, I had a... A moment of clarity. I realized... There's no such thing as monsters."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that," the doctor declared. "But, honestly? Monsters are the least of your problems. People can learn to live with delusions, but the anger I saw in you... You hurt those two men, and you were going to kill me. The look in your eyes when you came after me, I... It was like you were barely even human... Like a man possessed."

That made Sam even more guilt-ridden and ashamed of himself. The doctor's words were bringing back one of his biggest fears. Suddenly, the case wasn't as important as it used to be. And, although he knew he had to do anything to get out of this room so that he could get his hands on the real wraith, Sam needed something else. He needed to get the doctor to trust him again. If the doctor trusted him again, then it would mean that Sam was still human.

It would mean that Sam wasn't a monster.

"I know. Please... Just... Could you give me a second chance?" Sam pleaded.

"Well, this isn't a prison. You'll be allowed to go to the day room, under supervision," Doctor Fuller replied, the gentleness coming back in his eyes and washing Sam with some relief.

"Thank you," the young man genuinely replied.

"But if there is one more outburst," the doctor took a step towards Sam. "I will transfer you to a facility that is equipped to handle violent patients. And, believe me, they will be far, far less forgiving."

Sam nodded. He could take this. As long as he was trusted not to be a monster, he could take these words. He could take anything as long as he wasn't considered a monster. Sure, he had lost control, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. No, he wasn't going to let it happen. Because he wasn't a monster.

He wasn't a monster.

He was _not_ a monster.

But then again, if he wasn't a monster, why was he so afraid of losing control again?

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

Kate and Mary were ready, or rather as ready as can be.

After going over the plan of following the Other-Kate on her way up to Lawrence, the two women had spent the day juggling between watching the Other-Kate and doing other activities to kill time until the clock would strike the hour when they would have to leave the house they were squatting.

Mary had watched some television for a while, feeding her curiosity on the channels and shows of the future and surprising herself with the high definition of the images. She asked a hundred questions to Kate and although the brunette had spent the last few days saying that she couldn't tell her about the future, she still answered all of the blonde's questions. Mary hadn't found it any weird as she reasoned that knowing about the future of the world of television wouldn't create any big time paradox.

The television session had been followed by a cooking session. Mary had found there was enough ingredients in the kitchen to give Kate a little cooking lesson. The cooking lesson was more of a baking lesson as the two women baked together a little apple pie. Somehow, that time spent preparing the pie had reminded Kate of her time trying to cook with her father. Mary was as patient, gentle and considerate as Kate's father used to be.

Surely while showing to Kate how to prepare the crust or the filling, Mary had casually mentioned her family a few times. Kate hadn't stopped her. As a matter of fact, the brunette even told her a couple of things. She assumed that there was no harm in telling some things about Sam and Dean to their mother, although she made sure not to say anything about the hunting part. She had told her ordinary things that wouldn't give away too much about the future. Things like how Dean never stopped loving pies and that he cooked the best burgers she ever tasted. And, that Sam cooked amazing shaped pancakes and always made sure to eat very healthy. Mary had asked her about her third child that was still growing in her belly but she didn't get any answer as the beeping of the timer gave to the brunette the opportunity to change the topic.

The next hour had been spent with Mary and Kate chatting and putting everything back in places in the house. There were only a few minutes left before Kate's mother would return from her job trip and the argument between her and the Past-Kate would happen. The argument would be followed with Kate leaving her mother's house to go see her father's grave in Lawrence. And, that would be on that way to Lawrence that Past-Kate would get aspired to Mary's universe.

 _Yes_ , Kate and Mary were ready. Or rather, as ready as can be.

"I'm done," Kate declared as she walked down the stairs after putting the telescope back at its place. "What are you doing?" She asked as she saw the blonde reading the napkins as she stood at the end of the staircase.

"I'm thinking… Here you said that your car stopped in the middle of your way down to Lawrence," she looked up at the brunette who arrived at the end of the stairs. "But, this morning when you took a shower, I crossed the street to check your car and I didn't find anything wrong with it."

"What do you mean?" Kate frowned in confusion, ignoring the fact that Mary had risked their hiding.

"I mean that your car may be old and a little dented, but the engine works perfectly fine," Mary explained. "And, trust me, I know what I'm talking about. My husband works at a garage; I can't tell you how much he showed me."

"Yeah, okay, but I don't see where the problem is."

"There's no problem, I'm just wondering if we're sure that your car is gonna stop where it stopped last time."

"Why wouldn't it stop where it stopped last time?"

"Well, I don't know," Mary shrugged. "But, better be safe than sorry."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that maybe we should help your car to stop working in the middle of the road," Mary suggested.

"And, how do you wanna do that?"

"I know a couple of things about cars, and I know which wires not to cut if we don't want a car to stop working after twenty minutes of driving. Or rather eighteen minutes."

"Eighteen minutes? You're so precise," Kate remarked, mimicking the tone that Mary had used when making the same kind of remark the other day. Mary gave a shrug as she smirked at her. "So, basically, you wanna sabotage my car?"

"You have a better idea?" Mary inquired as Kate just stared at her, looking a bit unsure. "Look, you said it yourself, Kate. Your car stopped in the middle of the road after about twenty minutes of driving. If it happened in the past, then it has to… To happen today."

"Yeah, I know, but I actually thought it was something supernatural that made it stop," Kate admitted before biting on her lower bit.

"Maybe you're right; maybe it's something supernatural," Mary replied. "But, if it's not, then your car will never stop. And, that creature or entity that opened that breach to bring you to my world in the first place, then it may catch someone else. Not you. You told me that you've been said that you have nothing special. So, maybe whatever took you, will take someone else if we don't make sure that your car stops where it's supposed to stop."

Kate contemplated Mary's explanation for a moment. It had been a moment now that Kate believed that Mary was more than just connected to Kate's first dimensional-traveling. After all, Chronos had told her that she would see what brought her to Bobby's universe and the more time Kate spent with Mary Winchester, the more she believed that Mary could have been the one doing so. Mary could have been the one who sent her to Bobby's universe. It was a head-aching theory, but it still made some sense. Nevertheless, the question of how Mary could have done that was still left unanswered; or at least for now.

"You're right," Kate gave a nod. She looked down at the napkins in Mary's hands before they heard the noise of a car driving in the street. They both went to look out the tiny window by the frontdoor. "That's my mother's car," the brunette stated as the black car parked in front of the house and then a tall red-haired woman in a brown suit stepped out. "And, that's her."

"I imagined her with curly brown hair like yours," Mary murmured thoughtfully.

"She dyes it," Kate simply explained as Mary glanced at her before returning her blue eyes to the woman taking out a suitcase from the trunk of her car. They saw her throwing a few glances at the greyish blue car a few times before walking into the house. "The argument is gonna start."

"Then, we should go and check your car, right now," Mary told Kate who simply nodded.

The two women immediately walked out of Mrs. Smith's house to make their way to the blue car. While Mary looked under the hood, Kate kept throwing glances around, afraid that a neighbor might see them or that her past-self would step out of her mother's house.

"Your knife," Mary said, holding her hand out. Kate glanced at her before quickly sliding her knife out of her boot. She gave it to the blonde and watched her as she cut a couple of wires. "Done."

"Alright, let's go," Kate rushed her, still afraid that her past-self would see her. Mary gave her back the knife and put the hood back down when Kate saw the frontdoor opening. Out of panic, she quickly grabbed Mary and pulled her to the bushes, just a couple of feet away from the car.

They heard her past-self going back inside the house, leaving the frontdoor open.

"Let's go over there," Kate pointed to the bushes that were against the house's facade and that were clearly bigger for them to hide behind.

With the frontdoor open, the two women could hear perfectly the harsh words exchanged by the mother and the daughter inside the house. Mary looked at the young woman crouched by her side and she was taken aback by the emotionless expression painted on her face. After all these days, it was the first time that the blonde saw such an expression on the brunette's features. Without doubt, the argument was affecting the short-haired brunette beside Mary.

"You did say that you didn't get along with your mother, but I didn't think that it was…" Mary trailed off.

"I know," Kate just replied in a little voice while her past-self ended up saying a few hard words before the slamming of the frontdoor echoed loudly.

Still hiding, the two women moved their gazes and watched as the angry Past-Kate went into her old, blue car and drove away.

"Let's go," Kate announced as she and Mary stood up. The brunette was going to rush to the car she had stolen the day before, when Mary suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her. "What?" Kate asked, spinning around to look at her with a confused expression.

All Mary did was nod towards the window that was just above the bushes they had been hiding behind. Kate followed her gaze and instantly froze.

Her mother was crying.

Kate had never seen her mother crying.

Not ever.

Her mother had nearly always worn a rigid and cold-stone expression.

But, there she was. Sitting on the couch and crying.

"I don't know what happened for you two not to get along when you grew up, but there's something I know," Mary looked at the young brunette. "A mother who cries like this after an argument with her daughter, it means that she's filled with deep remorse."

"We better go," Kate said, ignoring Mary's words as she pulled her arm away from the woman's grip.

"Kate, no. Your mother's crying –"

"So, what?" Kate snapped, surprising Mary a little.

"' _So, what'_?" Mary repeated with a frown. "So, she's your mother –" Kate scoffed.

From the very few things Kate had said about her mother, Mary had figured out that this woman surely had never been the mother of the year. But, it didn't stop Mary to believe that the present dimensional-traveling situation could only put all the disagreements on the side.

"Look, I understand that it can be difficult and complicated. But, the Other-You is going to be sucked to another world. And, _**you**_ might not come back to this world before a long time. Actually, we have no assurance that you're gonna get back here just like we have no assurance that I'll get back to my world… What I mean to say is that… It may be your last chance to make up with her. To tell her that you're sorry things were that way with her."

Kate stared at Mary as fragments of a memory came back in her mind.

" _So, maybe, you should call her, and tell her that you're sorry,"_ Jo had suggested to her when they were doing the dishes together the day before Chronos came to Kate. _"Because, that's pretty obvious that you_ _ **are**_ _sorry."_

"Because, she looks like she is sorry, you know? She looks like she is deeply sorry. Besides, you never know what really is in someone else's heart. What pain and sorrow and darkness is in someone else's heart… And, that includes your mother," Mary continued, causing Kate to look at her pensively.

"What do I do?" Kate asked in almost a whisper.

Mary approached the young woman, put her hand on her arm and gave her a supportive rub, "You can't face her. I don't think she'll understand that you look this different in just a few minutes. Let's go back to Mrs. Smith's house. You can call her from there and tell her what you wanna tell her. What you've always wanted to tell her."

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **October 28th, 2009.**_

 _ **Ketchum, Oklahoma.**_

 _ **At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.**_

Once Sam and Dean killed the wraith, they quickly ran away from the hospital, the alarm bell ringing loudly. And, as they ran towards the woods near the hospital, where the Impala was parked, the alarm bell kept on ringing. It was only a matter of seconds before they finally arrived by their car.

"Well, looks like Tom Cruise was right. Shrinks suck," Dean commented as he reached the driver's door. He stopped when he realized that Sam was still standing at the trunk. "What are you doing? Sam? You okay?"

"No," Sam breathed out. "No. The wraith –"

"What about her?"

"She was right," Sam declared, sounding completely drained.

"No, she wasn't," Dean shook his head. "She's dead, okay? Let's hit the road. I need a drink, or twelve."

"Most of the time, I can hide it, but," Sam started to say, taking Dean a bit aback. "I _am_ angry. I'm mad at everything. I used to be mad at you and Dad, then Lilith, now it's Lucifer, and I make excuses. I blame Ruby or the demon blood, but it's not their fault. It's not them. It's me. It's inside me," he admitted and Dean closed his eyes. The anger, anguish and exasperation that filled Sam's voice was hurting Dean like a stabbing knife. "I'm mad... All the time… And I don't know why."

Dean stepped closer to his little brother, "Stop. Stop it… So what if you are? What are you gonna do? You gonna take a leave of absence? So, what you gonna say yes to Lucifer? What?"

"No, of course not. I –" Sam began, only to be cut off by Dean.

"Exactly. And that's exactly what you're gonna do. You're gonna take all that crap and you're gonna bury it. You're gonna forget about it, because that's how we keep going! That's how we don't end up like Martin! We're not gonna run away to some other universe –"

"How can you say that?" Sam interrupted him, his brow furrowed. "She's got nothing to do with that. K—"

"Don't say her name," Dean cut him off in a harsh tone. Sam's eyebrows shot up on his forehead.

"You know what? No," Sam shook his head. " _No._ I'm tired of you pretending that her leaving didn't affect you, but then when someone start to mention her, you flip out." Dean clenched his jaw, looking away. "No one can say a word about her or about what happened back in Carthage without you flipping out on us! And, that's unfair, Dean. That's unfair and selfish. You're not the only one who lost people you cared about!"

"You think I don't know that?!"

"Then, why do you act like that? Why do you feel the need to pretend that she's never been here or –"

"Because what's the point?!" Dean cut him off again, his voice cracking with emotion. "Can you tell me what's the point in remembering that one moment she was here and the other she just vanished? No, she didn't even vanish. She made a deal with Chronos to leave. She _chose_ to leave."

"Dean, she had to go back eventually," Sam gently remarked.

"Yeah, I know that! I do, okay? It's just… Everytime we got something, it's ripped out of our hands. And, she was something good… She… She was a good person. Hell, Ellen and Jo were good people. They didn't deserve to die, but they died. And, even though I know it's on us, I feel like there's something else. I feel like God, the Guardians and all of the fuckin' universes have a blast at making us go through that. It's like a game for'em. They give us a girl to protect, they wait for her to mean something to us and then they just take her back. That was all just a game for them…" Dean took a deep breath and looked down at the hair-tie around his wrist. He continued in almost a whisper, "She gave me hope, Sam."

"I know," Sam gently whispered, his green-hazel eyes watching Dean's hand going over the hair-tie.

"And the worst is that she knew it. She knew that she gave me hope and peace. She knew it, but she still chose to leave," Dean half-scoffed at himself. "As much as I wanna forget about this, about _her_ , there's a part of me that can't… That doesn't want to. But, the more time passes by and the more I realize that there's no point… No point at all," Dean slipped the hair-tie off his wrist and held it tightly in between his fingers. "So, I bury that crap. I bury it with all the other crap that's ever happened to us. And, that's what you're gonna do, Sam. You bury it all and that's how you keep going." He looked at the hair-tie for a couple of seconds and then threw it on the ground. He looked up at his little brother, "Are you with me?"

Sam stayed silent, his gaze fixing at the hair-tie. Dean had spent weeks with that hair-tie around his wrist.

"Come on, man. Are you with me?" Dean repeated, causing Sam to lift his gaze up to him.

"I'm with you," Sam eventually replied, though in a rather weak voice.

"Good. Let's get the hell out of here," Dean stated before getting into the Impala.

Dean didn't even glance at the hair-tie that had helped him for weeks to remember the brunette who had once been a light to his darkness.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even though there surely were a lot of mistakes since I did the betareading myself… I wanted to keep my promise of posting this new chapter on this weekend, no matter what. I wish I could have given you the edited work, but the fantastic 'Igotzapped' is pretty busy lately, so I couldn't really get her to betaread my writing…**

 **I truly hope that there weren't as many mistakes as I used to make when I first started writing this story! Speaking of which, I think about re-writing the first volume, or rather correcting all of my types/grammar mistakes and all these kind of stuff. So if anyone wants to give me some help, that'd be really nice of you! (MisssSupernatural, if you are still reading this story, I remember that you suggested doing this for me a million ages ago, so if you're still interested, send me a PM please!)**

 **Thank you very much for the supporting reviews:** **3 guests, RomainieSweetheart, Emily, Klandgraf2007, Emma, Jules and the 3 guests!** **I promise to answer to those reviews of yours on the next chapter!**

 **You guys are truly amazing for staying so loyal to my story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul.**

 **No spoilers, but I think you will LOVE the next chapter so come back next weekend ;)**

 **Happy Valentine's Day,**

 **A.**


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is settled between the episode '** _ **Sam, Interrupted'**_ **(5x11) and the episode '** _ **Swap Meat'**_ **(5x13).**

 **Universe One :** **The Supernatural universe.**

 **Universe Two :** **Kate's universe.**

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Topeka, Kansas.**_

It was past four in the afternoon and the sky was bright and clear when Kate and Mary drove out of the busy highway. They followed the Past-Kate as the latter drove into another highway; an empty one. Kate was the one behind the steering wheel while Mary was sitting in the passenger seat, focused on her watch. Seeing as they didn't trail the Other-Kate immediately after the latter left her mother's place, it had been pretty tricky for them to find her in the first highway. But after a few minutes, Mary had spotted the old, greyish blue car. Kate made sure to keep a good distance between their car and her old, greyish blue car even though she was also lost in her thoughts. Indeed, her mind was playing over and over again the short phone conversation that she had with her mother.

" _Yes?"_ Her mother had whispered when she answered the call.

" _It's… It's me,"_ Kate had replied in a little voice, glancing at Mary who was standing nearby the doorway at Mrs Smith's house; the house they had stayed at for some time.

" _You forgot something?"_ Her mother had then said in a cold tone.

" _No… I… Why did it always have to be like this?"_

" _What is that supposed to mean?"_ Her mother had asked, her tone still a bit cold although the confusion warmed it a little.

" _I always thought that it would pass… When I was younger, I thought that you and I, we'd get along when I'll be older,"_ Kate had admitted, her brown eyes focused on the wire of the landline phone. _"I thought that when I'll be older, I would understand why we never got along."_

" _What do you want me to say? Huh? It's always been so…"_ Her mother had trailed off before taking a deep breath. _"What did you call for, Kate? You just walked out after yelling at me and telling me how horrible of a person I am. You said you didn't wanna talk to me anymore. So, what's this call about?"_

" _I'm… I just wanted to say that I'm…"_ Kate bit on her bottom lip and then looked up at Mary. The blonde was looking at her watch and Kate remembered that she couldn't linger this phone-call. They had to quickly go after her past-self. _"I'm sorry. I know I've prevented most of your dreams to come true. But, I'm… I'm sorry."_

It was the first time that Kate ever apologized to her mother over an argument. As a matter of fact, it certainly was the first time Kate ever apologized to her mother, period. It was also the first time that her voice was full of this much sorrow and remorse.

" _Kate,"_ her mother had said, surprise and softness in her voice. _"What… Why are you saying all this?"_

" _I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry it never worked out between us. And… I'm so sorry I never tried to make it work…"_ Kate's voice had choked, tears threatening to leave her eyes.

" _I know I've never been a good mother, Kate. But, please, whatever you're thinking of doing, Kate. Please,_ _ **please**_ _ **don't**_ _."_

" _I'm not gonna do anything,"_ Kate had replied in a little voice. _"I'm just gonna go back to… To Paris. And I'm gonna be fine, there. I'm gonna be fine and you're… You're gonna take care of yourself."_

" _Kate, I-I… I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry. It's in my blood, I was never made to be a mother. I'm sorry, but please, don't do anything stupid,"_ her mother had said, obviously afraid that Kate was going to end her life. _"Please, even if you can't forgive me, please listen to me, don't do anything stupid—"_

" _It's forgiven. Everything is already forgiven. You are forgiven. Never forget this. You are forgiven."_

"It's time," Mary's voice pulled the brunette out of her thoughts.

"Mmh?"

"It's time," the blonde repeated. Earlier, they had decided on pulling over the car when there would be only a couple of minutes left before the Other-Kate found herself stopped in the middle of the road.

Kate immediately pulled over, her brown eyes looking out the windscreen to watch as her old, blue car slowly became smaller as it continued down the road in the distance. Mary opened the door at her right and stepped out of the car. Kate glanced at her and then stepped out as well. Once they both stood outside the car, Mary looked over at Kate whose face was painted with a pensive expression.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kate replied in a little voice. "Let's go," she declared before walking by the side of the road.

Within a few seconds, the two women were quietly walking side by side on the grass. With her pistol in hand, the blonde kept looking around in search of the creature or entity that would very soon send the Other-Kate to the other universe. As for the brunette, she couldn't help but look at the bushes and the trees that decorated the sides of the road, as more memories of this scenery came back to her.

It wasn't long before they saw the old, blue car in the middle of the road. They both stopped walking as they watched from afar.

"Come on," Mary half-whispered as she nodded towards the four-feet high bushes. Kate looked at her and saw the blonde making her way in the bushes. The brunette didn't say anything as she followed her and then they both continued walking in the same direction, though they were now pretty well hidden behind the bushes so that the Other-Kate won't see them.

"How long did you say you tried to get your car to work before the breach appeared?" Mary asked as she looked down at her watch.

"About eight or ten minutes…" Kate replied before she heard the blonde grunt when a brunch of the bushes scratched her forehead. Kate glanced at her to see the woman rubbing the back of her hand against her little cut.

A hundred thoughts were running around in the brunette's head.

" _The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."_

The closer they got to where the Past-Kate was standing, the more Kate wondered how Mary could be the one who sent her to Bobby's universe.

All that was certain was that the mystic marble had been the object to enable the dark breach to form up onto the ceiling of that hospital room back in Lawrence of the other universe. But, that one clue surely wasn't giving any idea to Kate as to how Mary had proceeded – or rather how she was going to proceed. Because that was it. That was right here and right now that Mary would send the Other-Kate to Bobby's universe. But, _**how**_?

"Shouldn't the creature be here by now?" Mary asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

"I… I don't think there's gonna be any creature," Kate declared as she stopped walking. Mary turned to her, puzzlement written on her fine features as she also stopped walking.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that… I think there never was any creature," Kate explained, her voice as soft as her gaze.

She had to tell her.

It was going to happen anyways.

There was no way to avoid it.

She had to tell her.

"I think it was you, Mary. I think you're the one who brought me to your universe. I think it's always been you."

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **November 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

"Here you go!" Sam exclaimed, carrying a pack of beer cans as he walked down the flight of stairs in front of Bobby's porch.

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate it," Matt, all dressed in his usual black clothes, smiled as he stood by his car's trunk.

"No sweat," the taller man replied as he went to put the beers in the opened ice box that was settled on the trunk.

"You're sure Dean's not gonna get at you for giving me your last six-pack?"

"Nah," Sam replied, closing the ice box. "I'm pretty sure he's gonna get back with two dozen later." Matt half-scoffed at that as Sam grabbed the ice box's handle. "Sure you don't wanna wait for him?"

"Absolutely sure. I think I got enough bad jokes about my plastic hand this past couple of days," Matt chuckled. Sam gave him a sympathetic smile. "Oh, please, Sam. Not that look again," the blue-grey-eyed hunter sighed.

"Sorry, it's just…" Sam trailed off in a little voice.

"It's just nothing," Matt finished for him. "I mean, c'mon, it's been nearly two months," he reached for the ice box's handle while Sam watched him do. "I've learned how to live with only one hand," he carried the ice box to the passenger seat. "Since your stay at the psychiatric hospital, your brother's managed to get over it and get over a lot of things. Maybe, you should take a leaf out of his book."

" _You're gonna take all that crap and you're gonna bury it. You're gonna forget about it, because that's how we keep going!"_ Dean's voice echoed in the back of Sam's head.

"Yeah, maybe, I should," Sam declared in a thoughtful tone.

Matt watched him for a moment, his grey eyes studying the dimpled-face of the young man, and then he said, "He didn't scream last night. So, I guess his nightmares are slowly going away, huh?"

Sam tilted his head, half-nodding.

Although Matt said that Dean seemed to do better since their journey at the psychiatric hospital, Sam knew that it wasn't really true. As a matter of fact, so did Bobby. This past week since the hospital, Dean's screams during his sleep had been echoing through the walls of the old hunter's house.

The nightmares were back, and they were stronger than ever.

The elder Winchester had tried to avoid sleeping, but the thing was that drinking his fears and pain away always made him wasted to the point of crashing out. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that he seemed a bit less depressed than before the wraith case.

But, Sam knew Dean better than anyone. He knew that Dean was only burying everything. He even said it himself.

So, when Sam found a weird package in the kitchen's cupboard and then Bobby told him what it was, the younger Winchester felt like he found the way to help his brother. Indeed, this package was the rest of a beverage that Pamela had left for Kate months ago. Bobby had made Kate drink it in a time when the worst and most painful memories had rushed all back to her. The beverage had succeeded to build a sort of wall in her mind, preventing hallucinations and nightmares to get their grips on her for some time. The brunette had been lucky that during her stay in Heaven, angels had taken away all of these memories once for all, because as efficient as this beverage was, it didn't last longer than a week.

After many fails, Sam had finally managed a couple of nights ago to persuade Dean into drinking this beverage.

"Yeah," Sam replied before clearing his throat. "Right before you got here, we gave him that beverage I told you about."

"Pamela's?"

"Yeah."

"I thought Bobby said there wasn't enough left to make it work…"

"Yeah, well, apparently it was enough to work these past two nights," Sam replied with a shrug. "I mean, sure, it's a once in a lifetime thing to drink, and sure it's gonna last just a few days. But, it's the only solution I had for now… I just… I don't know what we're gonna do when the effects wear out."

"And, Castiel really can't erase those memories?"

"Yeah," Sam sighed, lightly shaking his head. "Like Bobby said the other day, half of Cas' mojo is gone. Besides, it takes a very powerful angel to erase or restructure someone's memories."

"Yeah, but, a while back, you told me that Castiel took away Dean's hallucinations."

"Yeah, but it's different… Apparently, these memories of Hell, they're craved on Dean's soul so…" Sam trailed off, a sad expression crossing his face for a second.

"Yeah…" Matt trailed off in a little voice. He cleared his throat and continued, "Anyways, Dean seems to be on the right track, if you ask me. He doesn't freak out anymore whenever someone mentions Carthage or Kate's leaving, he doesn't lock himself in her room anymore, and he doesn't spend hours in the bar downtown or fixing his car that doesn't need fixing. So, yeah, I think he's on the right track, and soon all his nightmares of Hell will leave him alone. All you gotta do is have some faith, Sam."

"Yeah," Sam whispered, a weak smile on his lips.

"Wow. That was the most convincing answer I ever heard," Matt commented sarcastically, causing Sam to scoff a chuckle. "Alright, I should hit the road if I wanna get there on time."

"Sure," Sam nodded as Matt gave a friendly slap on his forearm before walking around him. "Say hi to Maya for me."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Matt smiled as he opened the car door, ready to sit in his driver's seat.

"And, Matt," Sam called, stopping the dark-haired hunter.

"Mmh?"

"If you need anything, you call us, man, okay?"

"Yeah, your brother's already told me. 'If I need a _hand_ , I call the Winchesters'," Matt repeated what Dean had said, causing Sam to lightly shake his head. "Take care, Sam!"

The taller hunter watched the grey-blue-eyed hunter drive away. He couldn't help, but wonder if Matt was doing the same burying-crap-away-thing than Dean. It wouldn't surprise him. Matt had to be burying all his pain away. After all, back on that tragic day of September, he had lost just as much as – if not more than – Sam and Dean. He was as close to Kate as the Winchester brothers were, and on top of that he was a very close friend of Ellen and Jo; closer than Sam and Dean ever were to this mother and daughter. Besides, Lucifer had torn his left hand off. Sure, Matt had had one of the roughest times back on that terrible day of September, so it was more than undeniable that he was doing the same burying-crap-away-thing than Dean. It wasn't like Sam was a stranger to keep pain, misery, anger and sorrow to him. But, ever since the psychiatric hospital, he believed that some things needed to be spoken out loud. However, it seemed that it wouldn't be possible for him to do so. Not with everyone around him burying everything away and pretending to be fine.

He slid his hand in his jeans' pocket and pulled out a tiny object.

He looked at it for a moment, as he thought for the umpteenth time how different it would have been if _she_ hadn't left.

He took a deep breath and closed his hand around the object as he turned to make his way back inside.

He slid back in his pocket the object that he had picked up after his brother had tossed it away.

It was a stupid hair-tie, but it gave him a glimpse of faith.

A glimpse of faith that soon, everything would eventually turn out fine.

Or at least, as fine as it could ever be.

* * *

 _ **Universe Two.**_

 _ **October 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2008.**_

 _ **Kansas – On the road between Topeka and Lawrence.**_

"What…" Mary breathed out, shock filling her entirely. "Why… How… Kate, no. I… _No_. I swear I never did that!"

"I know, but you're gonna do it," Kate calmly replied as Mary stared at her with confusion. "I've been thinking about it lately... And, I think that makes sense in a way. Basically, by sending my past-self to your world, you cause other events to happen. And, those other events are what led us, you and me, to be standing here, right now. And, to, therefore, create the first event, which is to send my past-self – _me_ – to your universe."

"I… I'm sorry, I-I didn't get it."

"It's a paradox," Kate started when Mary interrupted her.

"I thought paradoxes were bad and we had to prevent them from happening."

"It depends. I remember learning about it back in Paris… I think it's called a… A causal loop. And, it's a paradox, but it's not the same kind I told you about, the other day. Basically, a causal loop is having a future event being the cause of a past event through time travel. And, the past event is then the cause of the future event, which is the past event's cause. There's no origin. It's a loop," Kate explained as best as she could.

"But, how?" Mary breathed out, still not understanding how any of this could be possible.

"I've no idea," Kate replied honestly. She took the mystic marble out of her jacket's pocket. "I suppose that somehow you found a way to make it work. And, to direct the breach towards my car over there." Mary looked down at the marble in between Kate's fingers. "Maybe, you were right. Maybe, by holding this and wishing really hard, you can make it work. You can open breaches from one universe to another. Maybe, that's what happened in the hospital." Mary lifted her blue gaze up to look at the young brunette.

"But, why would I do that to you?" Mary asked, a slight sadness echoing in her voice. "Why would I tear you away from your world?"

"I don't know…" Kate admitted in a whisper.

"Then, I choose not to do it," Mary declared firmly, taking a step back as she put her pistol back in her jacket's interior pocket.

"You can't," Kate told her. "It already happened otherwise we wouldn't be standing here. So you still gotta make it happen."

"No, I don't have to," Mary replied with firmness. "I don't have to force to you to go in my terrible world full of monsters. I don't have to force you to become a hunter."

"I'm not a hunter," Kate gently told her.

"Yes, you are," Mary replied, tilting her head to the side as a sympathetic expression formed on her face. "I'm sorry, but you are. It's in the way you speak, the way you walk, the way you look around you and even in the way you sleep. And, honestly that breaks my heart. Not just because I saw your past-self and how healthy and normal she looks. But, because I can see in your eyes that you still got that glimpse of normality and softness that no hunters are made of. I can see in your eyes that it's not what you wanted."

"Mary –"

"No, if I can save you from this, then I will."

"You have no choice."

"Yes, I do."

"No, Mary, if you don't… Then, we'll… I don't know what will happen, but it's not possible for you to break the loop," Kate tried to explain, taking one step closer to the blonde. "If you don't make it happen, you're going to make a lot of things not happen. You're going to change more things than you can ever imagine."

"I don't care," Mary replied. "You saved my boy, there's no way I'm not saving you back."

"That's it. If you save me, who's gonna save Dean?"

Mary froze for a moment, not blinking once as she stared at the brunette. Slowly she understood what Kate meant when she said that a lot of things would change.

"If I save you… You'll never save my little Dean from that car," Mary murmured. "That's what you did when I first met you… You saved him from that car."

Those words rooted Kate to the spot as she was hit by a sudden realization.

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

" _You're okay?"_ Kate had asked the little boy she had saved from a car, her brown eyes had immediately met his big, innocent eyes.

His big, innocent, _green_ eyes.

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

" _There's this thing about you… Maybe it's just with me or maybe everyone feels it, or maybe I'm just over-feeling thins… But, you give off this thing… It's relaxing, soothing. It feels good."_

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

" _Thank you… For everything. Fighting on our side and helping us. And, especially for being there for Sammy when I'm not or when I screw up everything with him."_

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

" _I don't want… I don't want you to go…"_

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

" _I guess I was afraid of losing you."_

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

" _You're family."_

" _ **The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."**_

His big, innocent, _green_ eyes.

"It's not you…" the brunette whispered. "It's Dean."

"Dean? What do you mean by ' _it's Dean'_?" Mary asked, a bit of panic in her voice as her eyes scanned the brunette's face. "Kate! What does it have to do with my son?"

"He… He's the reason why I'm here," the young woman replied, turning to look over at her old, blue car. "It's because of your son that _**I**_ made my past-self travel to your universe."

"Do you mean that… That car would have killed him the other day?" Mary asked as Kate saw her past-self get out of her car to check under the hood. "Or does it have something to do with the future?"

Kate bit on her lower lip and then she turned to look at her. Right when she was going to give her an explanation, her brown eyes were drawn by the little trace of dried blood on Mary's forehead.

A flashback came before the brunette's eyes.

" _I think it's the blood…. It's always the blood… You don't need Chronos to go back… All you need… Blood…. It's your blood,"_ Dean had deliriously babbled when he was sick.

That delirious babble had gotten Kate to do some research then. And, she had found out that with the right spell and the right ingredients, her blood could indeed bring her back to her universe.

Kate moved her eyes away from Mary's face to look down at her own hand. She turned it around and looked at her fingers as another and more recent memory flashed before her eyes.

Back in Lawrence, when Kate was in the Hospital room with Mary, the brunette had gotten a paper-cut on her fingertip. And, then when she had looked at the tiny bleeding paper-cut on her fingertip, it had closed before her own eyes. Not a second later, the dark blue and purple smoke on the inside of the mystic marble had started to swirl faster and faster. At that moment, the marble was activated.

"It's my blood…" Kate murmured before she looked up at Mary who was watching her with a frown. "No, wait, I think that… It's a combination of everything. My blood and the fact that I said out loud that I wanted to find out how I got to your universe and… And, of course the marble. God, it makes sense! The marble is filled with the essence of the power of the three Guardians. I think that back at the hospital, it awoke the patients because it enabled them the possibility to cross the In-Between world; which is the Cleaner's field. The patients' souls could get back to their bodies. And later, when I said out loud that I wanted to find out how I got pulled into your world, I really, _really_ meant it. And, I guess that it made the marble know _when_ to send me." Kate looked down at the marble. "But, I don't think it would have worked if my blood didn't touch the marble… The essence of the Opener of the Way needed my blood to know _what_ universe the breach could open to."

"What does it have to do with my son?" Mary asked as though she hadn't heard a word the brunette just said.

"Mary," Kate began in a gentle tone.

"Don't use that tone with me, Kate," Mary interrupted her in a rather stern voice. "I know that tone. That's the tone you've been using whenever you're gonna tell me that you can't tell me about the future. But, I have the right to know, Kate. I have the right to know what all of this has to do with my son."

"It doesn't really have anything to do with him, except that… That I need him. And, I think he needs me, too," Kate half-whispered as she felt tears form in her eyes. The young brunette had spent a long time trying to figure out why she had been pulled into another universe, and also what _for_ , while the answer had been by her side all along. It was because of Dean and also for Dean. "I chose to send myself to… To him."

Mary watched her for a moment. Taken aback by that revelation, she was speechless.

Then, the voice of the Other-Kate shouting with frustration pulled the two women's attention to the greyish-blue car.

"It's time, Mary," Kate said, turning her face to meet the blonde's blue eyes. "It's time for you to help me send myself to your universe."

Although Mary still had questions to ask, Kate's brown eyes caused her to understand that these questions were irrelevant for now. It even went beyond that fact, because Mary understood it now. She understood that Kate was going to sacrifice her normal and safe life for Dean. It didn't matter that Mary hardly knew anything about the future. It didn't matter that Mary didn't know what relationship Kate had with her sons in the future. It didn't matter that Mary only knew this young woman for a few days. All that mattered was that from the moment Mary met Kate, she knew that this young woman genuinely cared about her sons. All that mattered was that she knew Kate cared about her sons to the point of sacrificing her own safety for a life full of nightmares and monsters.

"What do I do?" Mary asked, causing Kate to look at her for a couple of seconds before bending down to pull her knife out of her boot. She handed it to Mary who frowned. "What's that for?"

"I need your blood," Kate replied. "I think that your blood will open our way to your universe just like my blood opened our way to this universe."

Mary took the knife and looked at it for a moment, unsure of Kate's new theory. But, as she trusted the brunette, all tiny hesitation dissipated from her. She traced a thin line on her fingertip with the blade and then looked up at Kate as she handed her back the knife.

Kate replaced the knife inside her boot and bit down on her lip. She stood back up in front of Mary and took a shaky breath as she held the marble out.

As Mary noticed Kate's trembling hands, she reached out to wrap one hand around the brunette's right forearm. She gave a gentle, yet firm squeeze, causing Kate to look right into her bright blue eyes. "It's going to be okay."

"Yeah," Kate gave a weak smile. She took a deep breath and then held the marble right in between her and the blonde.

With one hand still holding onto Kate's forearm, Mary moved her other hand up and held her bleeding finger right above the marble.

They both watched as two drops of blood fell on top of its transparent and hard surface.

Right away, the smoke on the inside of the marble began to swirl faster and faster.

"It's working," Mary remarked in a whisper as the smoke started to spin out of the marble. She stepped back, dropping her hand away from Kate who turned back towards the Other-Kate checking under her car's hood.

Holding the marble towards that direction, Kate tried to visualize the time when she woke up in Bobby Singer's salvage yard. All the old and wrecked cars. The pouring rain. The old man's house and the light from inside. The three figures standing in front of the porch.

"Please, please, please, please," Kate repeated as a motto.

The little, dark whirlwind started to go towards the car as the blue sky slowly turned grey.

Then, the ground shook under their feet. It wasn't a big tremor, but it still startled Kate and Mary. Nevertheless, Kate never stopped holding the marble towards her car. She could see it getting very close to the car that used to be hers.

"Please, please, please," Kate kept on repeating when another and definitely more violent tremor happened.

A thunder growled loudly, causing Kate to glance up at the dark grey color before returning her attention to the whirlwind. She was surprised when she saw that it wasn't there anymore as it slid through the passenger's door of her old car. As the ground started to shake again, Mary lost her balance and fell on the ground while Kate remained on her two feet. That was when she saw her past-self getting inside the car.

Abruptly, the earthquake stopped and the rain started to downpour.

Mary stood up, looking back and forth at the unmoving Kate and at the car.

Without a word, the brunette walked her way through the bushes and the blonde followed her.

Once they were both standing on the road, Mary asked over the noise of the heavy rainfall, "Is it done?"

Kate looked down at the marble. It looked normal. The smoke was back inside. She headed for the car. Mary looked at her for a moment before following her. Soon enough, they were standing right by the car. Kate looked inside the car for a moment. There was no dark hole. It was gone. Gone with her past-self.

The brunette looked over at Mary who was standing by the trunk. She smiled to her, "How about we get you back to your family, now?"

* * *

 _ **Universe One.**_

 _ **November, 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

Bobby knew everything.

He always did.

And even when he didn't, he always figured it out. He often believed that what made him such an observer was the fact that he grew up an only child. Or maybe it was because he grew up a lonely child with an abusive father and a mother too afraid to stand. But, quite honestly, he preferred to believe none of that. He preferred to believe that he grew up an observer for other reasons that had nothing to do with his childhood. He preferred to believe that the reason why he could easily figure out what creature killed an innocent, was because he had so much experience in the hunter world. Just like he preferred to believe that the reason why he could easily guess if Rufus was hiding something from him, was because he knew him so well after all these years. And, he also preferred to believe that the reason why he could easily read Sam or Dean's emotions was because he was there when they grew up.

There were so many other things that Bobby knew. He always knew an infinity of things. So, of course he would know that something was wrong with Dean the instant that the latter stepped into the same room.

And that was what happened that freezing day of November.

The old man was doing research at his desk when Dean walked into the room, a book in hand and a frown on his face. The noise of Dean dropping on the couch caused Bobby to drift his blue eyes away from the ancient book he was studying. His eyebrows shot up when he saw what the young man was doing.

"What you readin'?" Bobby asked as he immediately noticed Dean looked pretty down the dumps.

"I don't even know," Dean sighed, looking down at the book in his hand. "Something about sleep and Freud…"

"Freud? Since when you're interested in Freud's work?"

"I ain't," Dean replied as he rubbed his hand down his scruffy chin. "But… It's my last day, Bobby," he looked over at the old man. "My last day before the beverage stops working. And, since it can only work once on a person… I just…"

"You're tryin' to find another solution," Bobby finished. Dean gave a little nod. "Well, you're not the only one." Dean frowned and then glanced down at the book Bobby was studying.

"And, did you… Did you find something yet?"

"So far, no luck," Bobby said in a regretful tone.

"Figured," Dean mumbled, returning his green gaze to the coffee table.

"How come you never tried to find a solution for that when you first got back?"

"I don't know… Never really had the time to, I suppose. With the angels, the seals, Alastair, Sam's problem with the demon blood, and… And Kaitlin. It's just… There was no time to feel sorry for my ass," Dean admitted as he fixed a bottle of scotch. Bobby watched him, not commentating on the fact that lately the brunette's name could come out of his mouth or anyone's mouth without him flipping out. "Cas had taken care of the hallucinations that time I went into Kaitlin's mind. Besides, the nightmares quickly became less unbearable."

"Really?"

"I mean, back then. Obviously."

"Yeah, I get it," Bobby nodded. "But, you went to Hell, Dean. Nightmares about things like that don't just go away –"

"I never said they went away," Dean interrupted him, looking over at him. "Just that there was a time when they were less unbearable." Bobby watched him attentively. Dean let out a little sigh as he dropped his gaze away from the old man's. "Back then, I… I felt more at peace. Even with all these crappy memories, I had something that made me feel more at peace. Something that made me believe that I could move on from that. That if I never gave up, then those scars, they'll just be scars. Something that made me believe that despite what happened in Hell, I wasn't that bad of a man, and that I'd get my reward one day… _She_ made me believe all this. But, the thing is that… I think she was my reward… And, I think that's why she's gone. I didn't deserve her." Dean lifted his eyes and met Bobby's. "But, nightmares? I sure deserve them," he declared, standing up and tossing the book on top of the messy coffee table. He grabbed the bottle of scotch and walked out of the room.

Bobby knew everything. He always did. But, sadly, he didn't know how to comfort the young man he loved like his own son, when the latter had so much self-loathing to the point of believing that he deserved the worst of nightmares.

* * *

Kate's eyes flashed open when a loud thunder blast sounded. The first thing she saw was Mary stretched out beside her, unconscious.

"Mary," Kate said, pushing her hands on the ground to sit up, but the cloudburst had made the ground so slippery that she almost tripped on the unconscious woman. "Mary, come on," she started to shake her to wake her.

The blonde blinked a couple of times and then opened her eyes, only to see the brunette's face hovering her. "Kate?" She mumbled as she started to sit up with Kate's help. She looked around, "We did it, didn't we?"

They were in the middle of an empty street that was decorated with a few pumpkins and scarecrows.

It was a familiar street, and when Kate saw a black and orange banner unhooking from trees because of the heavy rainfall and the wind, she instantly recognized that banner.

' _ **Happy Halloween**_ _ **1983**_ _ **!'**_

"Yeah," Kate smiled at the former hunter. "You're home, Mary."

The blonde let out a chuckle of relief that soon turned into a weeping of joy and relief. She ran her hands through her wet hair and threw her head back, closing her eyes as the rain showered her face. Kate moved her gaze to their feet and there she spotted the marble. The brunette stood up and went to take the wondrous marble. Once it was in her hand, she stared at it for a moment.

It occurred to her that she he had just sealed her own fate.

The fact that she wasn't in God's plan like Zachariah had so often said, was simply due to the fact that God had nothing to do with her dimensional-traveling. Not God, not the angels and not any other creature. Just herself. Herself, a mystic marble and the mother of the man she had, long ago, chosen to look after.

"Kate! My watch," Mary exclaimed, pulling Kate out of her thoughts. When the brunette approached her, Mary moved her forearm so that she could show her that it was a few minutes past eight pm.

Kate rolled up her own sleeve to look down at her watch that indicated the date as well as the time. And, apparently, it had done the same thing than when they landed to her universe as it settled by itself to the time of the area and universe they were standing in. "It's a little past eight. And, it's October 31st, 1983."

"But, how can it be eight? I-I'm… I _was_ in the hospital with you at this moment," Mary began, confusion written all over her face before she realized something. "Are you saying that there's another-me, right now, at the Lawrence Hospital?"

"There was," Kate replied. "I think that right now, the other-you was just pulled to the future of another universe with the other-me to make the other-other-me leave the other universe to come to the universe we're standing in right now."

"That should be confusing, but strangely, it's not," Mary laughed, the relief of being back to her own universe still making her deeply happy. "I guess the bad weather cancels the 'treat or trick' session, but I'm still back to my family, and that's thanks to you," Mary smiled before she wrapped her arms around Kate and hugged her tightly.

Kate slowly brought her arms up to hug her back when she heard Mary whisper, "Thank you, Kate. Thank you for everything."

When Chronos had shown Kate what she was supposed to do and what for, he had made it obvious for her that she couldn't interfere with some things.

She couldn't change the past.

As much as she wanted to, Kate just couldn't change Mary's fate.

She couldn't change that terrible fate from happening even though it could give to Sam and Dean a normal, happy, safe and monster-less life with both their parents.

And their unborn sibling.

Another baby brother or maybe a baby sister.

As heartbreaking as it was, Kate just couldn't interfere with Mary's fate.

She couldn't prevent Mary's death from happening on November 2nd.

She couldn't save Mary Winchester.

It would only create a paradox and Kate couldn't let that happen.

It would only create a paradox…

 ** _A paradox…_**

Wasn't it what she and Mary had just done? What if she could create another paradox? What if the mystic marble could help her create this other paradox without risking too much? What if she could save Mary from her rueful fate?

"I've still got a question, though," Mary declared, breaking the embrace as she stepped back. "And, I need you to tell me the truth this time. My kids… Are they hunters? Did I raise them to… To become hunters?"

"No… No, you didn't do anything," Kate said in reassuring tone, avoiding the first question.

"So, tell me, how come you – a _hunter_ – know my kids this much and care for them just as much?" Mary inquired, her soft voice filled with confusion and fear. "What happened that got my kids involved in the hunter life?"

"I… If I tell you, I'd make a time paradox," Kate replied, a lump forming in her throat. "A real one that may not solve itself. Not a causal loop, but a paradox that could change many, _many_ things. A paradox that could change the whole future."

"It has to do with what the Cleaner said, right?" Mary asked. "I've been thinking about it. I've been trying to convince myself that he didn't know what he was saying… But, there wasn't one time during all these past few days that I haven't seen that look on your face. Pain, sadness… And _guilt_ ," Mary's blue eyes filled with tears. "My end is coming soon… It means my death, right?"

"I'm sorry," Kate whispered, her voice breaking with emotion as her brown eyes filled with tears as well. "I'm so sorry, Mary."

The confirmation rooted Mary to the spot for a while. Then, in a trembling voice, she started to panic, "What… When is it going to happen? I-I can be ready… I can stop it. Kate, you gotta help me stop it. You can't let my boys grow up without their mother," she put her hand on her belly. "You can't let my baby die! Please, Kate…"

Kate was ready to tell her everything she knew.

She was ready to warn Mary.

She was ready to _save_ Mary.

Right when she was going to tell her about November 2nd, a sudden flash of blinding red light lit up the entire street.

Kate shut her eyes closed for a short few seconds before opening them, only to see Mary completely motionless in front of her.

"No," Kate muttered as she reached out a hand to the blonde's face. Her brown eyes were so focused on Mary's sad face that she didn't even notice how her hand slightly moved away the immobile raindrops in the air. Once her fingertips touched Mary's skin, Kate closed her eyes. The woman's face was stone, hard and cold like a statue. "No…"

"I have bad timing, don't I?" A familiar voice said, causing the brunette to whip around.

"Undo this," she ordered through gritted teeth, pointing at Mary as she glared at the man wearing a hat and a long, fancy black coat. "Right now!"

Chronos intensely stared at her for a moment, then he snapped his fingers, teleporting Kate and himself away from Lawrence.

Away from 1983.

Away from Mary Winchester.

* * *

 _ **November, 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

Castiel's face was painted with an intense look as he watched the tools put on display on a wheeling table right by Dean and the Impala. The green-eyed hunter was changing the engine air filter of his Baby although he had already done it not long ago. But, Dean didn't care. It helped him keep his mind off unbearable things, and since his and Sam's journey at the psychiatric hospital, his mind had been filled with those kind of things. Nightmares about Hell were back and although Castiel had successfully taken away all the returning hallucinations from him, the angel hadn't been able to make the nightmares disappear too. Dean dealt with them the best way he could: as little sleep as possible, as much booze as possible and a great dose of denial.

"You're okay, man?" Dean asked, glancing up at the angel. as he dropped down a tool next to the other tools.

Castiel frowned at him, "You know I'm not a man, Dean."

"Yeah, well, I ain't callin' you _'angel'_ ," Dean replied, slightly shaking his head as he dropped on the wheeling table the last tool he used for fixing his car. "That'd be too awkward," he muttered to himself.

"I am thinking about restarting around the Mesopotamia area, tonight," Castiel declared while Dean grabbed a towel and started to wipe his even dirtier hands. "I was going to look for Him in Europe again, but redoing first Mesopotamia makes more sense."

"If you say so," Dean just said, throwing the dirty towel on the set of tools.

"You sound annoyed."

"I'm not annoyed," Dean replied before sighing as he turned to his car and pulled down the hood. "It's just... Cas, you've been looking for Him for months. You've scanned the whole planet."

"And?"

"And," Dean turned to him, ready to tell him to just give up. But, he stopped in track. There was confusion on the angel's face, but there also was hope. Something that Dean had given up on. Something that Dean knew he couldn't take away from his friend. "And, maybe you should take a break and then you can go back to your quest."

"That's not what you were gonna say," Castiel remarked, his eyes squinting at the hunter in suspicion.

"That's exactly what I was gonna say," Dean responded, but Castiel still didn't believe him.

"You're the one who told me that if I believe He's out there, I have to find Him despite what some ninja turtle says."

"What?" Dean frowned at his trench-coated friend since he didn't remember the exact words he said back when he convinced the angel to not lose faith. "Look, whatever I said back then, keep it in mind. If you think He's just playing hide and seek, you find Him. You find Him and you show Him what the rest of his winged-douchebags are doing to His world."

"I should go now, then."

"You –" Dean started before a red light flashed from one of the tiny ways in between the piled cars of Bobby's salvage yard. "What…" Dean trailed off, looking over at the cars.

"Kate," Castiel simply declared.

Dean whipped his head at the angel. His green eyes were big at what Castiel had just said. He was speechless, but the angel could guess that a thousand thoughts were running at the speed of light in the hunter's mind.

"I can feel her," Castiel stated in his low voice. "She's back."

* * *

"Guess where we are," Chronos said, an amused smile playing on his lips as the scenery around them changed in the blink of an eye.

"I don't care. Bring me back," she ordered him with a hard look even though tears welled her brown eyes.

"If you are worried about Mary Winchester, know that you shouldn't," he told her as she frowned at him. "She will forget everything that happened. Even the slightest scratch that she got during her journey with you will just vanish away – Don't look so surprised, you already knew that a group of angels are assigned the job to erase every trace from a Guardian's presence; it includes the traces that are in people's memories."

"So… I-I'm gonna forget, too?"

"No, not you. You're not from this universe after all, so you're not really their problem," Chronos told her.

"But, Mary… She's still in the hospital's records."

"But these records don't show the presence of any Guardians, do they?" He smirked at her, raising one eyebrow. "Everything is back to normal."

"But, it's not right."

"Of course, it is."

"No… Mary… She's _still_ gonna die," Kate stated, taking one step towards the Guardian.

"Yes. Like I said everything is back to normal."

"No," Kate frenetically shook her head. "Bring me back to her. Let me save her."

"I can't do this," he simply replied.

"Yes, you can! You already did it. You already sent me to her. You can do it again."

"Mary Winchester has to die on November 2nd, 1983," Chronos declared distinctively. "This is a fixed point in Time. She has to die and it can't be changed."

"Of course, it can," Kate retorted, frowning at him.

"No," Chronos calmly replied. "You are from a universe that created itself. There are thousands of universes like yours, but your universe is one of the very few that after its creation, grew by itself. And, that means that the concept of destiny doesn't exist in your universe. On the other hand, the universe you're standing in, does follow a specific pattern. A pattern that is full of destinies that can't be changed. Mary Winchester's destiny is one of them."

"It's not fair…" Kate said, her voice breaking with sorrow. "She's… She's _pregnant_."

"That doesn't change anything," Chronos replied. "She has to die on November 2nd, 1983, and so she dies on that day."

"So, why sent me to her? Huh? Why couldn't you just send me to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital straight away?"

"You saw why. You saw that she helped you send yourself here," he briefly explained. "Besides, you saved her son from getting hit and killed by a car. You intertwined yourself in her life and in her sons' life. It was inevitable. The fact that you are from a world where destiny is inexistent doesn't mean that you can't be part of others' destinies or lives. You can rewrite a lot of stories. But, some stories can't be rewritten. Mary Winchester's story _can't_ be rewritten." Kate bit on her trembling bottom lip as a tear rolled down her cheeks. "Besides, you made it possible for this woman to leave this life with the one object that she adored more than any other object." Kate furrowed her brow in confusion. "Her ring. When I took you back, the angels came to her and erased her memory. But, they left the ring around her finger. And, she took it off on her own that same night when showering. But, on the night of November 1st, when her husband went downstairs to watch some television, she put it back on. And, because of you, she wore it when she faced her rueful end… No one can save her. Not you, not anyone."

At that Kate looked away, and that was when she realized where they were. They were standing right near a pile of wrecked cars. It was a salvage yard; not any Salvage Yard.

Bobby Singer's salvage yard.

The brunette turned her head to her right and saw the old man's house, a few meters away from her.

"Why didn't you bring me back in the room from where you took me away?" She asked in a little voice as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"I can't get in there anymore. Bobby Singer put a couple of new, powerful protections around his house," Chronos explained.

"What? How –" She began before stopping herself as she looked up at the sky. The time when Chronos came to send her to the past, it was the very early morning and the sky was very clear. But, now the sky was filled with a few clouds and it was obviously the sunset. "What's the date?" She asked, tearing her eyes away from a bird that was frozen up in the air because of Chronos' mojo that got everything frozen in time except for himself and her.

"November 22nd, 2009," the Guardian responded and Kate's eyes got big.

"November… I… Why didn't you bring me back earlier?!"

"Because I couldn't risk you being here on the last day of Harvest," he told her in a calm tone. "Not after what happened with the Cleaner in 1983."

"Yeah, but what about Carthage?" She exclaimed. "The boys and Ellen and Jo, they were supposed to go there in September! They were going to face Lucifer – Wait, did they face him?" She couldn't stop herself from asking this question; Chronos had the ability to make people speak out loud what was in their mind, no matter which universe they were from.

"Do you have the object?" He asked her, ignoring his question.

"Yeah," she immediately responded, sliding her hand in her jacket's pocket to take out the mystic marble.

"Give it to me," he told her, his brown eyes glued to the object as he held one hand out.

"Are you going to summon God, right now?" She asked before putting the object right in the middle of his palm. Chronos let out a light breath, his lips curled up into a tiny smile as he looked at the marble. Kate looked back and forth at his face and the object. "So?" She urged him. He snapped his hand shut and the marble disappeared. She moved her eyes up to his face again and saw him close his eyes and inhale deeply.

"Lucifer is growing stronger," he told her, opening his eyes. "He turned every single stone to find and free the most powerful horseman: Death. He has spent so long looking for him; you are not stranger to all the earthquakes all around the world, last summer, right? It was Lucifer, trying to dig out Death from where he was buried ages ago." Kate listened attentively to the Guardian. "Death was chained in a box six hundred feet under, in Carthage, Missouri."

"Wait, do you mean that…"

"Lucifer freed Death that day of September," Chronos replied with a nod. "And, above all, he made sure to have this horseman on his sides."

"So, they didn't stop him… They didn't stop Lucifer…"

"They didn't," Chronos simply confirmed.

"Are they…" Kate couldn't even finish her question as she felt a lump form in her throat.

"Dead?" Chronos asked. "Do you really think I would have brought you here if that were the case?"

Relief washed over Kate who swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Alright. So, we gotta get God to help us. Right now."

"You don't understand, do you?" Chronos told her, causing her to slightly frown. "God is gone. If He was still here, do you really think He would let Lucifer or any of His Creations get Death as an ally? Whatever war there is, Death is not supposed to be on anyone's sides. He was made ambivalent. Still, he is on Lucifer's sides."

"But… You said that your mission was to keep God's Creation safe; this world—"

"I know what I said," he interrupted her with a wicked smirk that caused her to frown.

"The things you showed me before sending me to Mary, half of them were lies, weren't they?" Kate said in a half-scoff as she stepped back. "You're on Lucifer's sides."

"I'm not."

"Then, why?" She whispered, anger slowly rising inside of her as the Guardian's words slowly seemed to differ from the ones he told her before sending her to the past. "Why did you make me get you this object?"

"Because, I couldn't get it by myself. And, because the future of this universe is blurry. I used to see it with clarity, limpidity. But ever since you came to this universe, I can't see it anymore. I can't say what will happen anymore. If there is an end coming, I can't say when," he explained to her. "So, all we can do now is run away."

"What?" The brunette let out in shock as she didn't expect him to say such thing.

"You saw what this object can do. Not only does it enable crossing universes, but, it can also do much more. It can do things that you wouldn't even dream about in your wildest dream."

"Like run away?" She said in a disbelief tone. "You're supposed to keep this world safe, not run away because you don't know what's the future is made of! Most of us don't know what it is made of, but we're still here! We don't run away like cowards!"

"I am not a coward," he glared at her. "I am doing this to save someone."

"If you stay here and fight with us, you can save more than one person! You can save this whole wide world!"

"When you have spent an eternity looking after billions of universes, one world doesn't matter. _This_ world doesn't matter to me," he explained with a tranquility that almost gave chills to Kate.

"Wait…" She trailed off as a flashback took hold of her.

" _Chronos is nothing but a selfish creature. That's all he's been since he met that_ _ **human**_ ," The Cleaner had told her. _"First, he became weak, and then he let those human's feelings corrupt him."_

"A human… You fell in love with a human, didn't you?" Kate stated and Chronos clenched his jaw, looking away. "That's why you looked so sorry that time when Matt and I summoned you. You looked at Matt with such a sad look… Because you knew. You knew the woman he loved was going to die."

"Everything ends," he responded in a low voice. "In this universe and many others, everything ends. Which is why I am not going to stay here. I'm going to take her with me, to a universe where nothing ends."

"This is wrong," Kate remarked, her brow furrowed at him. "If she's a human from this universe, you shouldn't do this, because this is not saving her."

"She will be with me forever. And, _I_ will be with her forever. We will be in a place with no pain, no loss, no anger. None of this. Just, simple and pure bliss," he told her, his voice strangely sounding distant as though he was picturing his words.

"So, the Cleaner was right," she half-murmured. "You're a selfish creature."

Chronos stared at her for a couple of seconds before a corner smile appeared on his lips, "You know what? To thank you for what you did for me, I want to give you a present."

"I don't want your present," she replied in a stern voice. "I want your help."

"And, _that_ ," he replied, raising one hand up. "Is my help."

A very thin, fine, swirling purple smoke left the inside of his hand to direct itself right into the middle of Kate's chest. The young woman gasped. She looked down at her chest and then up at the Guardian.

"What did you do to me?"

"I gave you some of the essence of the Guardians power," he told her and her eyes slightly widened. "It won't serve you to win this war. It won't serve you to win any war. It will serve you for just one thing: to go to another universe. Two one-way tickets to save yourself and one person that you don't want – _can't_ leave behind."

"What… No," she firmly declared. "I don't want this. I don't _need_ this."

"There will be a moment when the doors between universes will open again, and that time will be one of the darkest this world has ever known," he told her. "Believe me, when that time comes, you better run."

With that he vanished away in a flash of bright, red light.

Kate opened her eyes that she had instinctively closed and the bird that was frozen in time just a second ago, flew right before her face. She wasn't even startled by the bird. She was too concerned by what had just happened; by what happened these past few days.

She stood still for a moment, and then she slowly turned her head to look at the old house.

She stared at it for a few seconds, and then, almost automatically, she started to walk towards it. Every step felt heavier than the previous one, but she kept on walking. The pain and guilt that filled these past few days were weighting on her, but she kept on walking.

 _ **Chronos had used her for his own profit.**_ _"When you have spent an eternity looking after billions of universes, one world doesn't matter. This world doesn't matter to me."_

Again, she had a tight feeling in her throat, but she kept walking.

 _ **And, God was gone.**_ _"You don't understand, do you? God is gone."_

Tears threatened to escape her eyes, but she kept walking.

 _ **She didn't even change Mary's rueful fate. Mary was still going to die on November 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **because she hadn't done anything to change that. Mary**_ **was dead** _ **on November 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **because Kate hadn't done anything to prevent that.**_

Her steps started to slow down as she realized what Chronos had told her.

" _That means that the concept of destiny doesn't exist in your universe…"_ _ **If the concept of destiny didn't exist in her universe, it meant that she was devoid of any kind of destiny. If she was devoid of any kind of destiny, she could have brought whatever changing to whatever event she wanted. She could have saved Mary. She could have found a way to save Mary and her unborn baby.**_

Kate was trembling from head to toes as she took a deep breath to keep from crying. Her legs were ready to give in under all this painful weight, so she stopped walking.

And that was when the noise of rushed footsteps reached her ears. Her eyebrows lightly knit together as the noise abruptly stopped.

Slowly, she turned her head to the left. An indescribable feeling washed over her as her eyes settled on the two familiar persons standing just a few feet away from her.

An angel in a trench coat and the green-eyed human he had raised from perdition.

Her teary, brown eyes naturally moved to the human. She was speechless and motionless. Even her heart seemed to forget how to beat.

"Kaitlin?" Dean whispered, not loud enough for her to hear but she could still read it on his lips.

She saw him starting to walk towards her, but the soaked wet brunette remained frozen on spot.

Suddenly, he was right in front of her, and the next microsecond his arms were wrapped around her in the tightest hug she ever received. She remained still, but her hands clenched into fists as he pressed her against his strong body, his face snuggling against the crook of her neck.

She couldn't make out the words he was mumbling against her skin. But, whatever they were, she knew that she didn't deserve them just like she knew she didn't deserve his hug.

He slightly pulled back, his hands sliding up, his fingers were pressed against her nape while his calloused thumbs caressed her cheeks. His green eyes traveled all over her face for a moment that seemed long and short at the same time, and then they met her brown eyes. She saw the sparks of happiness and relief in his green orbs, but there was also something else, but she didn't have time to figure it out as he instantly leaned forward and took her by surprise.

He pressed his lips on hers, in an unexpected, intense kiss.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **And, here you go with their first kiss!**

 **I know, I know it wasn't as mind-blowing as you guys certainly hoped for it to be. But, after rewriting so many different versions of their first-kiss, I just knew that this version had to be the 'one'. The thing is that I didn't want to overdo their first-kiss by writing a long paragraph about how their lips meet and blahblah. Also, I didn't want it to be too cheesy nor to be too heavy. I wanted their first-kiss to be quite simple. I hope you are at least a bit satisfied of it even though it was far from amazing. Just wait another week or so to know what happens next between those two, because something ALWAYS happens after a first-kiss!**

 **I'm sorry I wasn't able to update this chapter last weekend despite all your sweet messages full of excitement! Also, I apologize but just like the previous one, this chapter was also betaread just by myself. My dear '** **Igotzapped** **' who used to betaread my story is quite busy lately so I don't really want to bother her… I hope you guys can understand that.**

 **About this chapter, maybe it's just me, but I consider it as the end of a big part of Kate's journey. Now, we all know how/why/what for she got into the Supernatural universe. Nevertheless, Kate will still have to figure out the answers to a few other questions. Questions that may have crossed your minds, too, dear readers.**

 **Why are the doors between universes locked at some moment and not at others? What is it exactly with Kate's mother? Will Kate ever tell anyone about the piece of essence that Chronos gave her? Will she ever use it to save herself and someone else? What will happen between Kate and Dean after that long over-due kiss? And, so many other questions!**

 **I can't wait for you to read what's coming next, but for now, let me thank you all for your amazing support and loyalty! You guys are truly the best!**

 **Guest (February 6** **th** **, 2016):** **thank you for the little review!**

 **Guest (February 6** **th** **, 2016):** **Thank you for the review, and I'm happy you enjoy all my twists to the canon story!**

 **Emily:** **Thank you very much for your reviews! I'm really glad that you enjoy my story this much and your support is really nice! I'm so happy that you love and care so much about the characters I write :) Hopefully, you will like the next chapters just as much. Take care!**

 **Klandgraf2007:** **Thank you for the review!**

 **Guest (February 12** **th** **, 2016):** **Sorry, I couldn't update last weekend… But, thank you for the review!**

 **Emma** **: Thank you for your sweet review. You are the one who's brilliant for all these sweet words you've left me. Thank you again!**

 **Jules:** **Hahaha! Me trying to kill you? Naaah. Thank you very much for your review. I hope that all this wait to find out what happened with the Cleaner was worth it :)**

 **Patty:** **Thank you for reviewing! And, thank you for these really nice words! Did my English really improve that much? You make me blush haha. I'm happy that my few typos couldn't put you off reading! Thank you again!**

 **JessieQ95:** **Thank you for giving a shot to my writing, and thank you for leaving three reviews! I'm so touched that you think this OC to be the best you've ever seen… Thank you!**

 **Rubyrose:** **Thank you for this review! I'm happy that you still enjoy my story, and I'm happy that you liked what I did with Sam and Dean. I hope that you enjoyed the little flashback of that conversation between Kate and her mother. Like I said before we will find out more about Kate's mother and the fact that there's such a "potent rift" between them as you aptly put it ;)**

 **TheGirlWhoWaitedAgain** **: Thank you for leaving a review on this volume and the previous one! I love it when new people give a shot at my story, that really touches me. Thank you!**

 **Wolfenergy17** **: Just so you know, if you hadn't left that review with that request about the hair-tie, then Sam would have** _ **never**_ **picked up that hair-tie! Another object was supposed to give him this glimpse of faith. But since you asked, I decided to quickly restructure this chapter, and quite honestly, I like it more like this! So, thank you! And, thank you for the rest of your review, too. I'm glad you still enjoy my story, and I'm really touched by what you said about my English and my story! I can't wait to beta-read the first volume and post the new version. Thank you very much for your loyalty, and don't worry if you don't leave a review every time, I know how busy life can be. Take care of your new puppy :)**

 **RomainieSweetheart:** **You have no idea how hard it was to keep myself from sending you a PM since I read your review of chapter 13! How the hell did you figure out that Kate sent herself?! Did you infiltrate my laptop somehow? Or maybe you're a psychic? Haha. Really, you are so brilliant for figuring it out! You deserve tons of cookies! I'm really happy that you (like many others) have liked Kate and Mary's bonding. Also, thank you very much for that comment about how much my English improved; that's really sweet of you! Thank you again for all your support!**

 **Can't wait to read what you thought of this 15** **th** **chapter!**

 **Take care,**

 **A.**


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter was beta-read by '** **Irishlass07'** **who I can't thank enough for her beautiful work!**

 **This chapter is settled between the episodes** _ **'Sam interrupted'**_ **(5x11) and '** _ **Swap Meat'**_ **(5x12).**

* * *

 _ **November, 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 2009.**_

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

Kate had turned on the shower and let the water run while she took her clothes off and put them on the edge of the sink. Once she stood bare naked, she glanced up at her reflection in the mirror. Instantly, she understood why none of the hunters – nor even the trench-coated angel – had insisted on her telling them what happened to her first and then taking her shower.

She looked miserable.

Her damp hair was flat against her skull and the dark shadows under her eyes were nearly as prominent as the purple marks around her neck. When her brown gaze landed on the small cut on her forehead, she was hit with the memory of how she got the injury. She looked down to her jacket and looked at it for a moment. Almost hesitantly, she slid her hand into one of the pockets and pulled out a wet folded sheet of paper. As she unfolded it, she was struck with a wave of sorrow and guilt.

The rain that poured on her and Mary whenever the marble got activated had wetted the paper to the point of erasing half of the drawing.

" _For you,"_ the four-year-old Dean had said in his little voice full of innocence when he had given the drawing to her.

All that pain and guilt that accompanied that memory made Kate angry at herself. She tossed the drawing on top of her clothes and then stepped into the shower, not caring that the water was almost too hot for her skin. She roughly pulled the curtain closed and let the water cascade down on her, hoping that it would wash away all the unbearable guilt and misery that were clinging onto her.

But, with the water being the only noise echoing in the small bathroom, a heavy silence forced Kate to remember particular moments of those past few days. She wanted to get it all out of her head, but she couldn't.

She couldn't get the gentle smile of Mary Winchester out of her head.

She couldn't get the sight of Mary Winchester caressing her belly out of her head.

She couldn't get the voice of Mary Winchester out of her head.

" _Thank you, Kate. Thank you for everything."_

Shaking her head, Kate brought her hands up and pressed them against her ears as her fingers gripped at her hair.

" _Kate, you gotta help me stop it. You can't let my boys grow up without their mother!... You can't let my baby die!"_

Fury boiled inside of the young woman, she pulled her hands away from her head and fisted them with deep anger. Then, she hit the slippery wall, She hit it again and again. Bruises were certainly going to form on her hands, but she didn't care. The truth was that she didn't feel the pain in her hands as the pain she felt on the inside was more intense.

She could have warned Mary.

She could have saved Mary.

She could have at least tried to.

"I could've…" She cried, falling to her knees with the hot shower pounding on her back. "I-I could have…"

* * *

 _ **Sometime later.**_

That night Kate sat on the couch and pondered how long it had been since she had last sat on Bobby's couch, it seemed like it had only been a few days but according to the three hunters and the trench coat clad angel it had been two months.

Well, for them, it had been over two months since they last saw her.

If it hadn't been for the flash of red light and the fact that Castiel had felt Kate's presence, Sam and Bobby would have certainly thought that it was a shapeshifter or some kind of creature. As for Dean, he would have thought that he was hallucinating. He had dreamt many times of the day when she would return to him, but never once in his dreams had he imagined that it would feel this good to see her again felt as good as what happened just a moment ago. When he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him, Dean understood what the difference was between dreams and reality.

But, he wasn't the only one to have surprise and happiness wash over him at the return of the impossible girl. Bobby and Sam, and even Castiel, had experienced the same feelings washing over them. If they were honest with themselves, they felt happy that she was back in their crappy universe but guilty that she wasn't back in her safe universe. Sadly, their joy vanished a when the hunters noticed the worn-out expression on her face and the purple marks around her neck.

Dozens of horrible scenarios about what could have happened to the young brunette these past couple of months ran through the mind of the hunters. They were worried sick as they waited for her to finish her shower. They had plagued the angel with questions, but the latter had no answer to give them. He was as worried as they were. With half of his powers gone, he couldn't figure out what happened to the young woman. But, he wasn't blind and just like the three hunters, he saw her pale and drained face and the strangulation marks around her neck. Moreover, he saw the deep pain in her brown eyes, a pain that the hunters seemed not to notice; except maybe for Dean who seemed to have noticed it just after kissing her.

However, the imagining of scenarios stopped when Kate finished her shower, put on some clothes that Sam took out of her dusty bedroom, and joined them all in the living room. She sat in the middle of Bobby's couch and told them about her journey. They listened carefully and she made sure not to mention Mary Winchester and the fact that she had seen Sam and Dean when they were so young and innocent. It wasn't that easy, but Kate managed to do it and she was convinced that it was for the best. However, for some reasons, she also decided to not tell them anything about Chronos' gift; not yet at least.

Once she finished telling them about her journey, a silence settled in the dim-lighted room as they took in what she just told them.

"Let me get this straight," Sam started, straightening in his chair across the messy coffee table. "Chronos sent you to 1983 so that you could steal a powerful object for him, an object that the Cleaner was in possession of, and that basically was composed of the essence of the powers of the three Guardians. You fought against the Cleaner and managed to steal the object from him and when you got the object, it made you travel back to your dimension by wishing."

"My blood helped, too," Kate reminded him of that detail she had omitted earlier.

"Yeah, so Dean was right, it really was all about the blood," Bobby commented from his spot next to his desk, glancing over at Dean who was sitting on the edge of the couch that was the closest to the kitchen, his green eyes glued to the brunette.

"And then you sent yourself – no, um, your past-self – to our universe," Sam hesitantly continued, staring at the young woman who pulled at the damp towel that was loosely hanging on her shoulders.

"But, why?" Bobby asked, frowning. "You could've chosen not to send the other-You."

Kate bit on her bottom lip, looking down to avoid the four pair of eyes that were staring at her, she already knew all the things that she could have done. She had just spent over fifteen minutes crying in the shower about all the things she could have done.

"Bobby's right," Sam stated. "By doing so, you wouldn't be stuck with us right now."

"By doing so, she would have never come to this universe," Castiel corrected Sam's statement, causing Kate to look up at him. Just like Dean, Castiel had been very quiet since she started telling them her journey.

"Katie, you could've been safe and… You would've been home," Sam said in a gentle tone that showed his confusion to her actions.

"Yeah, well," Kate started, shifting her brown gaze back to the younger Winchester. "It's not because a place is called home that it is _home_."

Sam stared at her for a moment before a little smile curled his lips up in a smile that reminded the brunette of Mary's smile. Kate dropped her eyes down to the messy coffee table and bit her bottom lip.

"There's something that's still not clear to me," Bobby began, causing everyone to look at him. "From all you said, it sounds like the Cleaner is actually the good guy and Chronos is the asshole."

Kate lightly scoffed, "Yeah, well I'm not sure about the Cleaner, because, even though he tried to warn me about Chronos, he still was out there trying to suck the life of fifteen innocents in a coma."

"Right," Bobby muttered.

"Did Chronos say anything about God?" Castiel inquired in his low voice, pulling Kate's attention to him.

She looked at him for a moment, her brown eyes glancing down at Dean's amulet that he was holding in one hand. "Um, no."

Kate felt bad for lying to the angel, but she couldn't tell him what Chronos had said about God being gone. It was pretty obvious that it had hit him pretty hard when she told them that the Guardian had made her steal that marble so that he could run away to another universe. That amulet Castiel borrowed from Dean represented all that was left of the angel's hope, and she couldn't take that away from him.

"Why Lawrence?" Dean asked out of the blue.

Kate turned to him, that was one of the first questions he had asked her when she landed in Bobby's salvage yard all these months ago. She could remember the cold tone he had used and the look of mistrust he had given her. There was none of it today, the coldness of his tone was replaced by a warm gentleness and the look of mistrust was replaced by a look filled with concern and affection.

"Why did Chronos send you to Lawrence?" Dean clarified his question. "Why not somewhere else?"

"Because he knew where and when the Cleaner was going to show up with that specific marble," Kate softly explained. "He knew that the Cleaner was going to use that marble to cross the In-Between world, and get to the world of the living to suck the entire energy of these fifteen innocents," she continued, moving her eyes to look at the other people around her. "For him, it was a past event that had already happened… So, it had to happen."

" _She has to die on November, 2_ _nd_ _1983, and so she dies on that day,"_ Chronos' voice echoed in her head.

"That makes sense... I suppose," Dean trailed off before his gaze went over to his little brother who exhaled a long sigh.

"It must have been hard," Sam declared, confusing Kate who looked at him. "Not just fighting the Cleaner, but having to go back to your world, to hide from everyone that could recognize you. All that, just to find out that it was yourself who sent you to our mad universe."

"It was my choice, Sam," Kate softly told him.

"But, still. You were on your own," Sam replied and Kate's breathing stopped for a moment. "All those days, traveling from one universe to another, trying to figure why and what for… All on your own, it must have been hard."

"I…" Kate began in a little voice.

She could feel the guilt eating her from the inside, she didn't want to lie to Sam and Dean, but she didn't want to cause them any more pain, either. She knew that they deserved to know how amazing their mother was. They deserved to know that without Mary, she would have never made it through. They deserved to know that Mary hadn't hesitated once in saving one more life even though she had promised herself to never go back to the hunter's world.

Kate breathed in and admitted, "I wasn't on my own."

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked from his spot, unsure he had heard her right.

Kate could feel her heart start to race; she bit her lips together and looked down at her quivering hands. She slid them in between her thighs and then looked up, only to meet Sam's puzzled eyes.

"Didn't Chronos send you there alone?" Sam asked, gentleness and patience echoing in his tone.

"He did," she whispered, looking down at her lap. "But…"

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, she could feel their concern, she could feel their confusion.

"' _But_ ', what?" Bobby asked, slightly urging her.

"When I was sent to Lawrence," Kate started in a trembling voice, it wasn't that easy to tell them this, but she knew she had to. "I wasn't straight away sent to the Memorial Hospital, I was sent to a street… Not any street," she tilted her head as she gave a soft, yet sad, look at Sam who never shifted his gaze from her. "And, I met someone there; someone who saved me when the Cleaner was strangling me, someone who traveled with me to my universe, someone who helped me… In so many ways."

"Who was it?" Sam inquired in a little voice, as though he had already guessed who it was, but wanted – _needed_ – Kate to confirm it to him.

"Mary… Mary Winchester," Kate replied, her voice cracking in emotion.

Shock flashed all over the dimpled-face of the younger Winchester. It seemed that he hadn't guessed that it was Mary after all.

Kate didn't have to look around her to guess that the same shock was painted over the faces of the three other persons in the room.

"Mary Winchester… O-our mom?" Sam asked in almost a whisper.

Kate simply nodded.

She turned to look at Dean and was almost taken aback by the soft expression of shock that featured on his freckled face.

"You saw our…" Dean trailed off and Kate gave him a gentle look as she nodded at him.

"How?" Sam breathed out. "No, um, I mean... _Why_? Why did he send you to her? And, what for?"

"I… I don't know," Kate shrugged, glancing at Castiel, only to see him staring at Dean with frowned eyebrows. "I think it was just inevitable… She saved me from the Cleaner and then she helped me steal the marble from him. She – "

"Wait, you're saying that you… You basically solved a case with our mom?" Sam interrupted her.

"Kinda, I suppose," she replied softly. "When the marble set off at the hospital, she was with me, so she… She came with me to my universe, she spent all those days there, with me."

"I don't remember mom missing," Sam declared before turning his head to his big brother. "Did Dad say any—"

"No," Dean instantly replied, although he looked quite thoughtful. "He didn't say anything about the days before mom died. He never did."

"That's because she never went missing," Kate explained, turning to Sam. "Like I told you earlier, when I came back to this universe; I came back just a few moments after the marble first set off at the hospital and sent my other-self to my universe. But, it wasn't just me. It was your mother and me. We came back around eight pm; just a couple of hours after she left your place to help me… She never really went missing."

"I thought mom hated that life," Sam half-whispered in confusion, glancing over at his brother.

"She did," Kate spoke up in a gentle voice. "But, I don't think she could have stopped herself helping someone. And, that's what she did; she helped me even though it was something that she tried so hard to detach herself from. It was a whole different world for her and it was the future, but still, she helped me. It wasn't easy for her at first, but she kept going."

A faint smile formed on Sam's lips as he stared at Kate. "You looked after her, didn't you?"

"We looked after each other," Kate corrected with a twitch of a smile for a second. "I just… I wish it could've changed something. I wish I could have…" She looked down, pressing her lips together.

"You couldn't have done anything," Castiel stated. "Destiny can't be changed."

"I could have tried to warn her," Kate looked up at him, tears were already forming in her brown eyes.

"No," Sam whispered, shaking his head.

"Don't beat yourself up, Kate," Bobby told her. "No matter what you would have done, it would still have happened. Like Castiel said, some things can't be changed."

"Yeah, all roads lead to the same destination," Dean muttered, causing Kate to look at him.

He gave her a little smile, but the sadness in his eyes spoke a thousand words that made Kate realize that some things were better left unsaid.

It was at that moment that she made the most horrible promise she had ever made to herself.

She promised herself to never say anything about Mary's pregnancy.

* * *

 _ **Later that night.**_

Kate was frowning in her sleep as old and recent memories intertwined in her dreams.

" _You can be the perfect vessel for Michael if Dean doesn't play his part, just like you can be Lucifer's vessel_ … " _It's not just that. Truth be told, we don't want you to interfere in the battle between Michael and Lucifer. What we want is for you to help us. Kate, you have the capacity to hold the greatest secret weapon of Heaven inside of you… By keeping it in you, you can become the weapon. You will become the weapon."_

" _But, why me? Why me out of all the people?"_

" _Because you're not from this universe. God made you and all the other people from your universe completely different from the ones in this universe. As a matter of fact, it's more than that: you happen to come from the universe where souls are much more powerful than in any other universe."_

Kate lightly grunted as her body turned to the side.

" _I'm sorry, but no angel can help you_ ," the angel Naomi had told her when she had been kidnapped to Heaven. _"It's not that we can't send you back to your universe, but as long as Lucifer is out of his cage and the battle between Michael and Lucifer isn't done, we cannot do that. The doors are locked until the battle is done. Plus, the only one who can open them is missing."_

 _"If you remember, the doors between your universe and this one were closed,"_ Chronos had told her before sending her to 1983.

 _"_ _ **Were**_ _closed? They're open, now? So, that means I can go back without your help."_

Kate rolled onto her back, her brow furrowing deeper.

 _The earthquake had made that hospital in Kansas to collapse into rubble and dust. Most of the cars in the parking lot were either covered in dust or destroyed under the rubble. The ground was covered with some opened cracks and a broken hydrant fire on the other side of the parking lot was shooting water up into the dark sky._

Kate started to move her head side to side.

 _"But, you do not know my family. They know how lucky it is to have little Kaitlin here. Her soul is so powerful that it makes her perfect to become that weapon,"_ Gabriel had said when they had trapped him inside a circle of holy oil in fire. _"Of course, they'll have to remold you to make sure that you handle it for as long as they'll need to use you. And that, darling, is a horribly painful process but then you'll be totally ready to triumph over anything, Lucifer included. The thing is that chances are that you won't make it."_

 _"Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father, and Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy's plan. You were born to this, boys. It's your destiny! It was always you! As it is in heaven, so it must be on earth. One brother has to kill the other."_

Kate lightly groaned, her brow furrowing deeper.

 _"Mary Winchester has to die on November 2nd, 1983. This is a fixed point in Time. She has to die and it can't be changed."_

" _God is gone,"_ Chronos had told her. _"If He was still here, do you really think He would let Lucifer or any of his creations have Death as an ally? Whatever war there is, Death is not supposed to be on anyone's side. He was made ambivalent. Still, he is on Lucifer's sides…"_

Kate's hands fisted the blanket as she moved her head side to side again.

" _ **God is gone."**_

 _"_ _You have no idea what the future holds for you…"_

" _ **God is gone."**_

 _"It's magnificent and dreadful…"_

 _" **God is gone."**_

 _"You will have to make choices that will tear you apart, you will lose people dear to your heart, and you will play the role I want you to play. And it all started in 1983."_

 _" **God is gone."**_

" _There will be a moment when the doors between universes will open again…"_

" _ **God is gone."**_

" _And that time will be one of the darkest this world has ever known."_

 _" **God is gone."**_

" _Believe me, when that time comes, you better run."_

Kate's eyes snapped open as the dream, or rather the nightmare, skidded to a halt. She was panting and sweating. She unclenched her fingers from the blanket with some little difficulty, and then sat up on the bed. She reached for the lamp on the old stool that was used as a nightstand and switched it on. At first confused as to where she was, she quickly remembered that Sam had let her sleep in his room since hers was completely dusty.

The room was neat, even though one-third of it was filled with boxes of books and other objects that Bobby didn't use anymore. There was an ancient wardrobe with a door broken, making it possible for Kate to see that Sam had filled only half of one shelf with some clothes and books; the rest was inside his duffle bag that was at the foot of the wardrobe.

The brunette swung her legs to the side of the bed and looked over at the large window, where the curtain was half-pulled aside. It was still night outside. She didn't know what time it was, seeing as she put her watch and her other belongings in her room after her shower earlier. Sighing, she pulled the blanket off the bed and stood up. After that agitated dream, she knew that falling back asleep would be impossible, so she decided to go downstairs to get a glass of milk or maybe of something a little stronger.

Wrapping the blanket around herself, Kate went for the door. She opened the door and took two steps before stopping as she was surprised to find someone sitting on a chair right next to the door. The light was very dim in the hallway but she still made out Dean's figure. He was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest and his head leaning against the wall behind him.

"Dean?" She whispered, leaning down towards him.

She was answered by his light snoring, causing a tiny smile to appear on her lips, he was fast asleep.

She took the blanket off her shoulders and gently spread it on him, careful not to wake him up. She stared at him for moment and then quietly tip-toed her way downstairs.

Once she arrived to the living room, another smile formed on her lips as her brown eyes settled on the old man, passed out at his desk with one hand lazily holding a glass of scotch. She approached the desk, switched off the desk table and went to take his hand off the glass when a voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Kate spun around to see Sam sitting at the table in the kitchen. One of the floor lamps from the living room had been moved to stand next to the kitchen table, so Kate could see the two beers and the book on the table. She could also see that Sam was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a simple grey t-shirt. But above all, she could see how messy his usually neat hair.

"He just passed out," he continued to whisper. "You do that and he'll wake up and trust me, he needs to rest."

"I believe we all do," Kate replied in a whisper, too. "Why are you up?"

"Couldn't sleep," he simply replied as she walked towards him. "You?"

"Bad dream," she simply responded, sitting down at the table, on the chair across him.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No," she softly smiled. She looked down at the book that was lying open in front of him and realized that it wasn't any book. As a matter of fact, it wasn't even a book.

"I don't even know why I'm reading this," he admitted as he noticed the look on her face. "I mean it's not like I haven't read his journal a thousand times before… but, I just… Never mind," he closed his father's journal and gave a gentle smile to the brunette who stared at him with sympathy. "So, how come Dean didn't come downstairs with you? I saw him standing guard for you."

"Standing guard for me?" Kate asked with a funny look. "As far as I'm concerned, he was fast asleep on a chair right outside your room."

"What?" Sam's eyebrows shot up. "He's asleep?" Kate nodded. "Wow, it's been a while since he fell asleep without Cas or some booze having to knock him down."

"It's been that bad?" Kate murmured, concern on her face.

"Yeah," Sam gave a little nod. He knew that Bobby had told her about Carthage and the following couple of months. "I think Dean had it the roughest."

"Bobby said that it was rough for all of you, not just Dean."

"It was rough for all of us, but… Dean had to go through nightmares of Hell and, um, hallucinations."

"Yeah… Bobby mentioned that," Kate replied, sadness echoing in her voice.

"Cas solved half the problem by stopping the hallucinations," Sam explained, fiddling with one corner of his father's journal. "But, the nightmares…" He trailed off, looking up at the brunette.

"Bobby said you gave him Pamela's beverage…"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "It worked for a week. And, then… then, everything was back. I know that it was never really gone, but it wasn't that bad before. He used to... to be able handle these memories. I don't know why all of sudden it all seemed to come back to him. What Alastair did to him and what he made him do," Sam whispered, pain obvious in his voice. "He wasn't supposed to go to Hell, it's all my fault. If I –"

"You stop it right now," Kate interrupted him, almost waking up Bobby as she was no longer whispering. She rested one hand on Sam's, causing him to stop fiddling with the journal and then continued in a whisper but keeping a firm tone. "I don't wanna hear any of this, okay?" She squeezed his hand. "What happened to him, wasn't and will _never_ be your fault, Sam. You've been manipulated to make some choices and have had terrible things forced upon you, but that doesn't mean that everything is on you. And, that surely doesn't mean that what happened to your brother in Hell is on you. If I have to repeat this to you every day for you to finally get it, then I will," she told him in a serious tone. "Besides, before Cas left, he told me that Dean has been having fewer nightmares about Hell these past days. So, all you gotta do now is be patient, be patient and be there for your brother."

At that, a memory of what she had said back at River Pass flashed in the back of Sam's head.

 _"Sam, you should never be alone. Neither should your brother. You two need each other more than you can even admit it, but I think you can still feel it inside of you. That need for you two to be together in all of this because, you know that it's you two, together against the world."_

A smile formed on Sam's lips as he murmured, "I missed you."

She returned the smile, "You've already said it, but you can keep on saying it." Sam half-chuckled as Kate slid her hand away from his and took the two empty bottles of beer as she stood up. "I mean, it's not bad having one out of the two Winchesters tell me that he missed me."

"What?" Sam asked, surprised as he turned around on his chair to look at the brunette as she put the empty bottles on the counter and walked to the fridge. "Dean didn't…"

"Nope," She simply replied as she opened the fridge and took out a bottle of milk. She grimaced at the yellow-ish color of it. She opened it, smelled it and her grimace deepened. "When was the last time you guys cleaned out the fridge?" She looked over at him, only to see a funny look on his face. "What?"

"Wasn't it basically telling you that he missed you when he… You know," he told her, amusement written all over his features. She gave him a puzzled look. "When he kissed you."

"You… You saw that?"

"Bobby, Cas and I did," he nodded and she felt her cheeks warm up. She looked down at the bottle of expired milk she was still holding, as the memory of that kiss came flooding back to her.

 _Dean's fingers were pressed against the nape of her neck while his calloused thumbs caressed her cheeks. His green eyes traveled all over her face for a moment before meeting her eyes for a short second._

 _Then, his lips were suddenly pressed against hers in an intense kiss._

 _She closed her eyes as her fists unclenched._

 _Her arms slowly raised, until they reached his biceps which she held onto._

 _At that moment, he opened his lips and captured her lower lip in between his._

 _Feeling the intensity that emitted from him, she kissed him back._

 _Her fingers gripped tightly at his biceps and then she pulled back, opened her teary eyes and looked right into his for a moment before he pulled her back into a tight hug._

 _"It's alright, Kaitlin," he had whispered to her. "I've got you."_

"All I'm saying is that," Sam started, pulling Kate out of her thoughts. He stood up and walked towards her. "Dean missed you, Katie. He missed you terribly."

"But –"

"But, it's not because he didn't say it to you," he interrupted her, taking the bottle of expired milk from her hands. She looked up at him, uncertainty sparkling in her brown eyes. "You should know how Dean works by now."

"I suppose," she simply murmured.

"And, this isn't milk," he stated, holding the bottle up. He walked by her to put the bottle back in the fridge and take out another one as he stood by the opened fridge. He glanced down at his watch and then looked up at her. "It's past 5:45. Wanna cook some pancakes?"

She watched him for a moment as a flashback took hold of her.

 _"Really?"_ _Mary had asked, laughing._ _"I can't believe it. I'm terrible at cooking pancakes and you're saying my little Sammy cooks shaped pancakes in the future?"_

 _"Oh yeah, and he's darn good at it!"_ _Kate had grinned._ _"It's delicious and he makes all kinds of funny shapes."_

 _"Nothing obscene, I hope?"_

 _"Oh, no, no,"_ _the brunette had laughed._ _"Innocent shapes. Animals, cars, houses."_

 _"_ _You're not standing up for him, are you?"_ _the blonde had joked._

 _"_ _No, I swear,"_ _Kate had smiled._ _"He's the perfect gentleman_ _."_

 _"_ _Yeah_ _," Mary had softly sighed, a smile on her lips._ _"From all that you have told me and from my maternal instinct, I know that no matter what, I will be proud of him. Proud of_ _ **them**_ _."_

"So?" Sam whispered, breaking her flashback. "You're up for some pancakes?"

"Of course," she replied. He smiled as he put the bottle of milk on the counter and then went to close the doors separating the kitchen from the living room.

Kate watched him as he quietly finished closing the doors. He turned around and was a bit surprised by the look she gave him.

"What?" He frowned.

"You know, when I was with your mother, we talked about you and Dean," she softly told him and his frown faded away. "I told her a few things about the men that you and Dean were in the future. Her face was full of happiness, full of pride. You were only a baby for her back then, but she was already so proud of who you were going to become." A heartfelt smile formed on Sam's lips, causing Kate to smile as well. "I know it's unfair that I got to spend that time with her while you can't remember the six months that you spent with her… So, if you want to know anything…"

Sam gave her a little, thankful smile.

"Alright, um, so, let's see if we've got all the ingredients?" She declared, turning to the fridge.

"Katie," Sam said, causing her to turn back to him. "Do you mind… Do you mind telling me more about those days you spent with her? Like, um, what you did with her, what you talked about and… What she was like?" Sam asked in a little voice.

The brunette gave him a tender smile as she nodded at him, more than willing to share with him some of the moments that he should have lived with his mother.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

Dean opened his eyes as the sound of someone laughing rang in his ears. He lazily looked around and raised one hand to rub his face when he felt the blanket on him. He looked down in confusion, and then pulled it off him. He stood up, placing his hands on his lower back and twisting to either side until three loud cracks were heard. The sound of laughing echoed again, causing him to turn his head towards the staircase. This time he recognized the laughter.

It was _her voice_.

He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips as he glanced at the blanket on the floor. No doubt, she had been the one to cover him up. That thought made him wonder what time it was. He looked down at his watch, only to see that it was almost noon. He had slept over eleven hours straight, he was surprised to say the least. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten that much sleep in one night. However, what surprised him the most wasn't that fact; it was that no nightmare had featured his long sleep and not one single image of Hell and its flames had come to him or maybe he just couldn't remember what he dreamed about; which wasn't bad either.

He stared at the blanket for a moment, wondering if there was any coincidence that he had such a restful sleep now that Kate was back. She had been such a peace-bringer to him the months before the day Chronos had sent her away, that thought didn't last long as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He slipped it out and saw that he received a text from Rudy, a fellow hunter. He closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket, deciding that he would call him later. He bent down and grabbed the blanket and put it on the chair before heading for the stairs.

As he walked downstairs, the familiar voice of Doctor Parks coming from the living room became louder and louder. He rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes and stopped when he saw Bobby in at the end of the staircase, a book on lap and another one in his hand.

"What are you doin' here?" Dean asked in his low morning voice.

"Beth is checking on Kate in the living room," Bobby briefly explained, causing Dean to look over at the doorway. "Sleep well?"

Dean shifted his green eyes back to the bearded-man wearing a cap; there was a faint amusement on his facial features, which slightly confused the younger man.

"I slept on a chair," Dean stated.

"Outside Kate's room."

"Outside _Sam's_ room."

"Where Kate was sleeping."

Dean frowned a bit at him, "So?"

"So, I didn't hear you scream once last night," Bobby replied. "No nightmares?"

Dean stared at him for a moment, there was no trace of amusement of Bobby's face anymore, and it was all replaced by sincere concern.

"No nightmares," Dean responded. His eyebrows knit together as he sat down on one step of the stairs. "Actually, I don't remember what I dreamt about."

"Maybe, you didn't dream at all," Bobby pointed out.

"No, we dream every night," Dean stated, looking up at the old man who raised his eyebrows at him. "What? It was in one of those books about dreams and Freud that I got at the library last time. Anyways, it's no big deal. I mean, we don't always remember what we dream about and honestly, I'm better off without any memories of good or bad dream if it means I can sleep that well." Bobby scoffed at that. "What about you? You got some shut eye?"

"Yeah, I fell asleep around 5:30, only to be awoken by your idjit of a brother and Kate at 6 o'clock," Bobby explained. "I swear, no one's ever cooked breakfast as noisily as these two and I can't believe they didn't wake you up, you'd think they had a marching band cooking with them."

Dean couldn't help the light chuckle that left his mouth. "And, you've been up since then?"

"Yeah, well," Bobby shrugged. "Hard to fall back asleep when the smell of pancakes and bacon reach your nose."

"Pancakes and bacon?" Dean asked, his face lightening like a Christmas tree.

"Yeah, I think they've left some for you," Bobby informed him.

"Awesome," Dean commented before his phone rang in his pocket.

"We're done, Bobby," Doctor Parks' voice called from the living room.

Bobby put his hands on the wheels of his chair and rolled to the living room, leaving Dean to answer his phone call.

"So, how is she doin'?" Bobby asked as he rolled into the room.

"Good," the green-eyed doctor replied, glancing at Kate who was putting her flannel back on over her black t-shirt. She stood up from the chair she was sitting on, next to the edge of the couch where Kate was sitting as she continued, "Really good. The marks around her neck should be gone in a few short days and I have enough blood samples to run as many tests as I need."

"I even got a sticker," Kate beamed, holding up a little sticker with a cartoon drawn on it.

Bobby turned his questioning eyes to the woman dressed in an elegant brown suit.

"She spotted it in my bag when I was taking her blood," Doctor Parks explained with a light chuckle.

"Apparently, Doctor Parks is against the idea of giving candy after taking someone's blood," Kate declared while the elder woman closed her bag.

"I just don't want to discourage good tooth care," Doctor Parks clarified.

"Yeah, well, still," Kate said, looking down at the sticker. "After all the blood you took from me, I totally deserved three stickers and a couple of lollipops."

"Next time, maybe," the doctor joked along before turning to Bobby. "Alright, I should go, I'm needed at the hospital."

"Thanks for dropping by, Beth," Bobby told her before placing a hand over his mouth as he yawned.

"Don't mention it and please, go get some rest, Bobby. You'll have all the time to enjoy Kate's company later," she advised the old man as he rolled to his desk.

"I know, I know," he mumbled, putting the books from his lap on a pile of other books.

"I'm serious, Bobby. You really need to rest."

"Don't worry, I'll make he sure he does," Kate declared, standing up and grabbing the doctor's coat. "I'll walk you to your car."

As the two women walked into the hallway, they saw Dean standing at the end of the staircase. A grave look painted his freckled face as he talked on the phone, or rather as he listened to whatever was being said to him on the other end of the line.

Doctor Parks met his gaze for a second before she saw his green orbs instantly move to the young brunette beside her. She glanced at Kate, only to see her sending a quick smile to the hunter before looking down at the coat she was carrying. The doctor looked back and forth between the couple for a second before Kate opened the front door.

"Thank you," she told the young woman as they stepped out. It was quite a warm day for a November, so when the doctor took back her coat she didn't put it on. "As I said, I'll call you as soon as I get the results," the doctor continued as she and Kate walked down the steps that lead to the house porch. "And, of course, don't hesitate to call me if anything happens."

"I promise if a third eye grows on the back of my head, I'll call you," Kate replied as they approached the car.

Doctor Parks opened the door, put her bag and coat on the passenger seat and then turned to the young brown-eyed woman.

"You look after yourself, okay?" She told her, earning a little smile of agreement from Kate. "And, you look after them."

"Always," Kate replied, her tone soft, yet firm.

The doctor smiled in response before stepping into her car. She closed her door and then the engine quietly roared as she started her car. Kate stepped back, giving a quick goodbye-wave as she absently watched the car driving away. She was lost in her thoughts of what the green-eyed doctor had told her. Needless to say that the two women chatted during the half of hour that the elder woman spent checking on Kate's health. Unlike Kate who didn't say much about what happened to her when she was gone, Doctor Parks told her quite a lot about what happened at Bobby's these past two months.

" _It was terrible… Bobby was completely distraught. He knew Ellen for years. I can't tell you how many good things he told me about this woman and her daughter. He really loved them… And, so did Matt. I guess that's why I was surprised at first… I saw him multiple times as I checked the recovery of his injury, and he was so… So brave. He never let his pain out. Not once. But, I think it was because he didn't want to add any more troubles to the already full-plate that Bobby and the Winchesters had… The Winchesters? Oh, it hit them just as bad. Of course, they both spent their time pretending that it didn't affect them. The younger barely talked about it and the elder just burst out with anger... I am not blaming you, but you have to know that it surely didn't help that you were gone."_

"She gone?" Dean's voice pulled Kate out of her thoughts.

She turned to ask him to repeat what he just said, but when her eyes set on him, she forgot how to speak. Dean was standing on the last step of the porch and the bright sun rays embraced him from his head to his shoes. She was standing about three feet away from him and yet she could see how the sunrays made his short, spiky hair shine, his beautiful green eyes spark and his hundred freckles stand out.

She succeeded to mentally shake herself and asked, "What did you say?"

"The doc," he said, nodding towards the direction Doctor Parks drove away. "She ain't staying for lunch?"

"No, she's has some work to do," she simply replied.

"Don't we all?" Dean half-scoffed, sitting down on the stair. "So, I see she went all Dracula on you."

Kate looked down at the band-aid on the puncture site of her left arm and smirked, "She wanted to have some blood samples to run some tests. I think she's afraid that I came back with a virus and that I might turn into some sort of mutant."

"Well, better be safe than sorry."

"Yeah," she lightly chuckled and then she watched him for a moment.

They hadn't had the chance to see each other alone since her return the previous night. After telling them her journey, it was their turn to tell her what happened while she had been missing. Dean hadn't said much when Bobby started to tell her what happened in Carthage. However, when Castiel left to start his second search of God, Dean didn't take long to leave the living room, too. He went to take a shower, thus avoiding having to listen to Sam and Bobby while they continued telling the brunette what happened during the past two months. After that conversation, Kate had gone to bed, hoping that some shut eye would diminish the guilt that filled her for having been gone when they needed support.

The brunette tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and went to sit beside him. He looked at her as she turned her head up to him. "So, how was it sleeping on that chair for nearly half a day, sleeping beauty?"

"Ah," he scoffed, glancing at the horizon before turning back his head to her. "Sleeping beauty is blonde, remember?"

"Well, you're kinda blonde," she shrugged.

"What? No," he frowned. "My hair's brown."

"Well, maybe, but you've got some blonde highlights," she said, raising one hand and wiggling her fingers towards his hair. He let out a faint scoff. "What?"

"I haven't seen you for two months and that's what our first one-to-one conversation is about? My hair's color," he raised his eyebrows to emphasize his disbelief.

Kate crinkled her nose, "Right, that's not… I'm sorry. It's just that I kinda forget that it's been longer than a week for you." Dean looked down at his phone that was still in his right hand.

"Yeah, a bit longer," he thoughtfully replied, stretching his leg out so that he could slip his phone back into his pocket.

"I think 'a bit longer' isn't quite the same than two-months-longer," she softly told him, her brown eyes roaming over his profile. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you say that something's wrong?"

"You've got that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The one I don't like," she simply responded.

He looked at her for a moment, there was something about that girl that simultaneously drove him crazy and calmed him down. Her presence by his side brought him serenity and comfort that he had been dying to feel again these past months.

"Rudy called me," Dean replied, turning his gaze to the piles of wrecked cars. "His hunting buddy, Josh, brought his girlfriend – who's also a hunter – to a case, and she got killed."

"Oh God," Kate breathed out. "Did you know her?"

"Met her once. She was a good girl," he responded, his brow furrowed as his gaze was glued to the detached wheel of a car. There was a short silence before Dean spoke again, "You're a good girl, Kaitlin."

"What?" The brunette frowned, not understanding why he was saying such thing.

"You're a good girl," he repeated, turning his head to her so that he could look straight at her. "Your place ain't here."

"What are you saying?" She inquired, quite puzzled.

"You shouldn't be here. You should be in your safe and monster-free universe where angels, demons and the Apocalypse are just a bed-time story."

"You don't want me here?" She nearly whispered.

"That's not what I'm sayin'," he sighed, resting his right elbow on his thigh as he rubbed his hand down his lips and jaw.

" _When the world burns and you know that everyday might be your last day on Earth, your eyes open to things that have been there all along."_

He moved his green eyes back to her and looked at her for a moment. His gaze went from her brown hair that spun in curls that touched her shoulders to her bright eyes full of comfort and sincerity. The dark rings under her brown orbs didn't alleviate their beauty.

" _When the world burns and you know that everyday might be your last day on Earth, your eyes open to things that have been there all along."_

"When I went to 2014, my future-self told me something…" He began, sounding tentative. "And, it took time for me to really understand what he meant. It took me almost losing you back during that Crocotta case and all that happened after that, for me to understand what he meant. _And_ , it took me losing you for two months to not just understand it, but to _relate_ to it." Kate lightly frowned at him, a bit confused by what he was saying. "I'm not sayin' that I don't want you here, Kaitlin… Not at all. What I'm saying is that: now, that I've opened my eyes, I… I don't wanna lose you again. I _won't_ lose you again, Kaitlin."

"Dean, you're not going to lose me," Kate told him, softness and firmness tangled in her tone.

"You'll have to go back eventually and I get it. But, I'm not sure I'll be able to help you go back," he frowned at himself as he looked towards the wrenched cars. "I know that's selfish, but these past two months…"

"Dean, you won't have to help me go back, you won't have to do anything," she told him, her eyes looking right into his. "Didn't you listen to a word I said last night? I _chose_ to send myself here. All my life, I've been terrible at making choices, but this one? It's the best choice I've ever made." She paused and said, "I'm not going anywhere, not anymore."

Dean scanned her face, as though trying to spot something that would show that she was lying to comfort him, but all he found was pure sincerity.

"So, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you gonna do? With no need to research a safe way back to your universe, you don't have anything to do anymore."

"Wrong. This world needs all the help it can get if we want to have a shot at stopping the Apocalypse. So, I think, I can help Bobby with his research while Sam and you go back on the road," she replied, noticing as his facial expression slightly changed.

"Bobby told you."

"He did, yeah," she confirmed, slightly nodding. He looked away, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Look, it's okay. You needed some time for yourself. So did Sam."

"Say that to all the people we let down during that time," he scoffed.

"Hey, it's not like you're the only hunters out there," she pointed out at him. "Besides, you still solved a case." Dean looked at her, wondering if she knew the details of what happened during his and Sam's stay at that psychiatric hospital.

"So, you think that we should hit the road while you stay here?" He asked, ignoring her mention of the only case his brother and he took care of these past couple of months.

"I think that if you feel ready, then all these innocents out there, whose lives are threatened by ugly creatures, well, they could use some Winchester saving," she smiled, earning a chuckle from him. "So, am I right?"

"You know you always are."

"Good answer," she jokingly smirked up at him. "So, before Doctor Parks came, I heard Bobby talking on the phone about a weird case around Bismarck in North Dakota," she stood up and started making her way to the front door. "Maybe we should go ask him if you and Sam could take care of it and –"

"Wait," Dean cut her off as he looked up at her. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You don't wanna come with us?"

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," she hesitantly replied, standing in front of the door.

"Why not?"

"Um…"

"If it's about my mother's ring, I've already told you that I'm more than fine that she got to keep it at the end," he said in a reassuring tone as he stood up.

"No, it's not that," she shook her head. "I just… I don't wanna be a distraction."

"What?" He asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Well, you know," she nervously said. "Yesterday, you… When I got back, you…"

"Oh, I see," he half-whispered, understanding that she was talking about the kiss.

"Um, yeah," she simply said, crossing her arms over her chest in a nervous gesture as she pressed her lips together and looked away.

"How would that make you a distraction?" Dean inquired.

Kate shifted her gaze back to him, her brown orbs instantly meeting his green ones, "Isn't that obvious?"

"No," he replied, causing her to stare at him for a few seconds.

"You kissed me, yesterday," she told him, hoping that saying what happened would make Dean understand.

"So?" He asked as his eyebrows knit together.

"So… So, I think I may have overthought that kiss, but," she paused, inhaled deeply and continued. "You kissed me, yesterday, Dean. And… And, you were gonna kiss me before Chronos came and zapped me back to the past. I know that it was two months ago for you and that you surely forgot about it, but I… I didn't. Even with a thousand things running through my mind, I still remember that day; I still remember that you were gonna kiss me… And, I don't even know why I'm telling you all this – But, I just want you to know that even though I understand that you need to take your head off the Apocalypse sometimes, I can't be that distraction that helps you do that."

"You –"

"I'm not saying you should stop having any kind of distraction," she quickly cut him off. "You can totally keep on banging every woman you meet, but I can't be one of them. I can't –"

"Kaitlin, you're not one of them," He half-exclaimed, stopping her. He approached her, reaching his hand out to tuck a lock of her curly hair behind her ear and continued in a calm voice. "You're not one of them. You've never been one of them," he pulled his hand away from her hair. "You're much more."

"Then, it's worse," she whispered, sadness obvious in the way she looked at him.

"No, it's not," he told her. "You keep me fighting, Kaitlin. You come around, looking at me with those big brown eyes and with a couple of words and a biting of your lip, you get me," he couldn't help the faint smile that crossed his lips. "You know what to say and what to do to keep me going. You're not a distraction; you'll never be a distraction. You know, life has constantly knocked me down for years and I've always stood right back up. But, those past months? I couldn't stand back up. With what happened in Carthage and with you gone, I just couldn't stand back up. I should've been able to. But, I couldn't. I needed you… I _need_ you, Kaitlin."

The brunette didn't think twice as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. It was Dean's turn to be surprised this time. However, he didn't wait long to kiss her back. As her hands rested on his shoulders, Dean wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. The kiss was slow, yet full of passion. The brunette slid her hands to the back of his neck and felt Dean smile against her lips, which inevitably made her smile as well.

Kate pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss but not the embrace. She looked at Dean as he opened his eyes. The happiness that sparkled in his green orbs slightly surprised the young woman as it seemed to have taken away all of the pain that she was so used of seeing reflecting in his eyes. Dean didn't give her a lot of time to wonder about this as he leaned down to kiss her again.

That kiss made Dean feel like all of the weight of the world had lifted off his shoulders and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Three days had passed since Kate had come back and everything had already gone back to how it used to be. Sam and Dean were on a hunt in North Dakota, Bobby was buried in research and Kate was keeping herself busy as best she could. When the Winchester brothers left, the brunette went to the store to buy tons of household cleaning products and started on the task of cleaning Bobby's house from top to bottom. It took her a day and a half to remove all the dust and spider webs, to do many loads of laundry and to tidy and re-shelf the many piles of books that were scattered all over the floor.

She spent the rest of the time keeping Bobby company and helping him with his research. She even called Chuck to see if he could help with the research and to ask if he knew about where Chronos was going to send her. Apparently, he had a vision but it came a little too late to warn any of them. After that call, Kate decided to bury herself in research as well. Needless to say the days were busy. However, the nights were quiet; _too quiet_. Inevitably, all these silent nights made the young woman spend hours in bed with her eyes wide open and her mind playing in a loop her journey with Mary Winchester. She still was greatly affected by all the things she had seen back then, but she kept quiet about it.

The guilt from not helping Mary was festering inside her and wasn't helping her sleep, but it also seemed that it didn't make it bigger. If the guilt increased, she would have keep it locked away, anyway. All the hope that shone in Mary's blue eyes was a burden that Kate had to carry on her own. It was her burden to carry and it would moreover destroy the Winchester brothers to know that Mary was pregnant with their little brother or sister the night she died.

As much as Kate wished Chronos hadn't made her travel back in time and meet Mary Winchester, something made her grateful or rather someone made her feel grateful.

And that someone was Sam.

The expression that formed on his face as she told him things about his mother was something that she would never forget. He looked as though happiness and comfort washed over him for the very first time. The greenness of his hazel eyes sparkled as he stared at her while she told him how intelligent, witty, strong-willed and courageous his mother was. A little smile was plastered to his lips all along and it only grew when the brunette told him how their mother reacted to the random things she was told about her sons.

Nevertheless, Kate was quite saddened by the fact that unlike Sam, Dean didn't want to know more about what happened when the brunette was with his mother. There were so many things that she wanted to tell him about his mother; things that she was certain would make him as happy as Sam.

But, during another phone conversation with Chuck, she understood why Dean was acting that way.

"So, that's because he's afraid it'd hurt him more," Kate murmured, holding her phone against her ear as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"He's convinced that it will hurt him more," Chuck said in a little voice on the other end of the line.

"Would it?"

"I-I don't know. I've already told you, I didn't have any visions since –"

"No, I'm not asking you if you had a vision that would tell me if it will hurt him," she interrupted him. "I'm asking you if you think that it would hurt him… You're the only who knows everything that happened there, Chuck."

"I think that y-you should wait for him to come to you… And, if he doesn't, you have to accept that."

"I know," she sighed, dropping her gaze to her socked-feet. "And, I won't force him to hear me talk about moments that I spent with his mother and that he certainly spent his whole life wishing he had lived them. But… when I told Sam, he was so… so happy to know more about who his mother was. He was so happy to know all those details, I think that it somehow helped him understand why his father reacted the way he did when she passed away… I just wanted Dean to feel the same way Sam did. And, I want Dean to know how brave his mother was and how much she loved him."

"He will," the prophet declared. "Someday, he will."

"You sound so sure of yourself suddenly," she half-whispered.

"It's because I know Dean. I've been writing him for some time, now."

"Um, Chuck, we've already talked about this," Kate said, turning to the box that lay on her bed. "You're not writing them; you're writing about them."

"Right. That's – Hang on, Kate," he told her. She put her phone on speaker and put it on her bed as she carried the box to a corner of her bedroom. She had gathered all of the 'Supernatural' books and other manuscripts of Chuck's in that box and scotch-taped it closed. "Kate, I'm gonna have to call you back later."

"Is everything alright?" She asked, going back to her bed and taking her phone in hand.

"Y-yeah," he stammered. "It's Becky; she just got back from her shopping and I think we're gonna spend the afternoon and maybe the night together. We haven't done anything yet, but I think that she's ready to – "

"I get it," Kate interrupted him, not wishing to hear more. "Just call me if you have an important vision, okay?"

"Sure, of course," he agreed as she sat down on her bed.

"Alright. Thank –" She was cut off by the sound of him hanging up on her. "… You."

Kate looked down at her phone and sighed, laying down on her back. She stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds and then closed her eyes. She had called Chuck in order to check if he had any visions since the last time she called him, which was just the day before, but their phone conversation had quickly turned into a catch up conversation. Then, without realizing it, they started talking about her recent journey through time and universes. Sadly, talking about it didn't diminish the guilt that Kate felt for not trying to save Mary from her tragic death. Even though Chuck knew everything that Kate kept quiet about, the brunette still felt like it was her burden and that she had to carry it on her own.

All these thoughts faded away when the doorbell rang. The young woman frowned as she wondered who was at the front door. Sam and Dean were not supposed to be back until tomorrow afternoon and Rufus told Bobby that he would come tomorrow morning. It could be someone else that she didn't know, but if she had learned something from all the time she spent at this place, it was, that not many people visited Bobby Singer and certainly not without telling him first. When she arrived downstairs, she saw Bobby starting to roll out of the living room.

"I've got it!" She told him and he nodded, slightly rolling back so that he could stay in the living room's doorway, from where he could see who was at the door.

She opened the front door and was surprised by the person standing in front of her, it was her friend Matt. Her lips stretched into a smile as she saw how good and healthy he looked compared to a few days ago – or rather two months ago.

Of course, the dark-haired hunter was more surprised than she was. In fact, he was more than just surprised, shock painted all over his face as his grey-blue eyes stared at her. Although Bobby had told him that she was back, he still couldn't believe that he was seeing the young brunette again. He had just gotten his head around the fact that she was gone and that he would never see her again.

"Hey," she softly smiled in greeting.

"Hey," he let out in barely a breath.

Kate immediately saw how much it affected him to see her and she had to remind herself again that it had been more than a week since any of them last saw her. With no hesitation, she walked to him and put her arms around his neck to pull him down for a hug. He remained still for a few seconds and then he lifted his arms to hug her back. His embrace was as tight as the one the three other hunters had given her on her return, tight and full of sincere affection and happiness of having her back.

She felt his body start to shake and understood that he was silently crying.

"You're back," he cracked out against her shoulder.

As Matt sobbed against her shoulder, her mind raced back to what Doctor Parks had told her when she examined her a few days earlier.

" _I can't tell you how many good things he told me about this woman and her daughter. He really loved them… and, so did Matt. I guess that's why I was surprised at first… I saw him multiple times as I checked the recovery of his injury, and he was so… so brave. He never let his pain out. Not once. But, I think it was because he didn't want to add any more troubles to the already full-plate that Bobby and the Winchesters had…"_

The brunette comfortingly stroked the young man's back, closing her eyes to keep her emotions in control, and whispered to him, "I'm back."

* * *

 _ **Some time later.**_

After Kate finished comforting Matt and reassuring him that she was truly back, they had lunch with Bobby. The two men talked about a case and the huntress that Matt had been hunting with; a certain Maya who seemed to be quite popular among the two hunters. The lunch lasted longer than usual; Matt was still a bit shaken up by the fact that Kate was back in their world. However, when Bobby received a phone call, Kate led Matt to the backyard where they sat on the old, ripped-off backseat that was so often used as a bench.

Matt listened carefully as Kate told him about her journey, still making sure not to mention Mary Winchester's pregnancy or mention what Chronos said about God being gone. And, of course, she also didn't say anything about the so-called present that Chronos gave her.

Once she finished telling him everything up to what she had been doing these past days, Matt looked at her and asked in a teasing tone, "So, Dean and you are a thing, now?"

"Is that _really_ all you heard?" Kate raised her eyebrows at him.

"Nah, c'mon. I've heard everything, from the trip to the past, the confrontation with the Cleaner, the trip to your universe with that causal loop thing, to the discovery that Chronos is actually an asshole," he summed up. "But, what do you want me to say to any of that?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "It's just that I… I just told you that I met Mary Winchester and that I didn't do anything to save her," she finished in nearly a whisper, as her eyes showed how ashamed and pained she was by all of that.

"You also told me that Chronos said her destiny couldn't be changed."

"Yeah, but Chronos also told me that I come from a universe where there's no destiny. And, that means I am free of any destiny. I can do what I want. And, if I can do what I want, it means that I could have saved her."

"No, Kate. That's not what that means," he shook his head. "You don't get it, just because you come from a universe with free will, it doesn't mean that you can pass it on to the people of this universe."

"But, still. I could have done something. I could've at least warned her –"

"It wouldn't have changed anything," he cut her off. His eyes roamed over her face for a couple of seconds before he continued, "Didn't you tell me once that Dean went back to the past, too? And, that he saw his mother before she married his father?" Kate gave a faint nod. "And, if I remember right, that was also the time that Dean tried to warn his mother about her death and yet she still died." The brunette remained quiet as she looked away. "I wish you could see yourself, right now, Kate," he gently whispered, causing her to shift her brown orbs full of confusion back to him. "You want someone to tell you that 'yes, you could have done something to change Mary Winchester's destiny'. You're desperate for someone to put the blame on you. But, why? All that craziness that happened to you, it was forced upon you. And, it's not because you chose to send your past-self here that it means that it wasn't forced on you. You may be from a free-will universe, but at the end, choosing this universe made you as much a victim of destiny as any of us." Kate watched him for a moment, not saying a word.

He could see the tears that had formed in her eyes. He wasn't expecting that reaction from her. Not that he didn't know how sensitive she could be sometimes, but he wasn't expecting his simple remark to hit her that much.

"I'm afraid," she admitted, her voice an almost imperceptible whisper.

But, Matt still heard her. With sympathy and gentleness intertwined in his tone, he inquired, "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that if it's not my fault, then it's gonna be God's," she replied, a tear escaping the corner of her eye. "And, if something as terrible as what happened to Mary is on God, then… Then, what hope do we have left?"

"You think… You think there's no hope left in us wining this war?"

"I think that if God gave out all these crappy and cruel destinies to most of his Creations, then it means that he never cared about any of us. If he did, I don't think he would have let the angels launch the Apocalypse or let a bunch of good people go through terrible things," she replied, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "Honestly, I just realized that if that's the kind of God Castiel is looking for, then, we're screwed."

"You used to be so optimist; so ready to fight no matter what –"

"I _am_ ready to fight."

"Then, why are you saying 'we're screwed'?"

"Because, I see it, now," she responded. "I went to the past and met an amazing woman who did her best to have a normal, safe and well-deserved happy life. She didn't know who I was but she helped me. In a matter of days, she's been through things she never imagined could even be possible. She travelled to another world and another time and she never stopped helping me. She did all she could to help me until the end. She was the kind of woman who deserved to live a long and happy life with her husband and her kids. But, she didn't," Kate paused. "She was a wife, a mother and a _hero_. But, she still died, burning on the ceiling of her six-month old baby's nursery," she bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. "When you see something like that, you realize that everything is just unfair, no matter how much good you do... So, no matter what we do, we're just screwed."

"So, what? We should stop fighting? Is that what you're saying?" He asked, his eyebrows raised as he stared at her. "We should stop fighting because you realized just now that life's unfair – No, sorry, you think that we should stop because you just realized that our chances of stopping the Apocalypse are so thin that they're pretty non-existent," he paused. "Kate, we _know_ we're screwed, we know that we'll keep on losing people that we care about. We know that Lucifer and the angels are thrilled because their plan is still going as they want it to go. Trust me, we know. Heck, I'm reminded of all this mess every single morning when I wake up and see that I've only got one hand instead of two." Kate looked down, feeling bad for him. "We know we're screwed but that doesn't mean we have to sit back and let them burn our world as they wish. We have to keep fighting, you know that. And, if it's not to stop the Apocalypse, then let it be to piss them off by making it more complicated for them to carry out their plan."

The ghost of a smile appeared on the brunette's lips as she looked up at him. "You're right. I know you are, Matt but I can't help thinking about all these things that happened and that I could've prevented from happening and –"

"Kate, stop," he immediately cut her off. "Stop thinking about what you could have done. You're only going to drive yourself crazy with sadness, remorse and guilt. And, you shouldn't because what happened, it happened. But, what is going to happen is yet to come. And, you're not gonna make it through if you stay buried in all these 'what ifs' and 'I could haves'."

"Easier said than done," she mumbled.

"I know," he gently replied. "I spent years thinking about all the things I could have done to prevent Rosemary from falling into a coma and you know how I spent my time after she died. Those 'what if I did this or that', they kill you on the inside. That's why you have to think about what you're gonna do and not what you could have done"

"But, I-I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Of course, you do," he told her, a corner smile forming on his lips as he looked right into her eyes. "You chose this universe for a reason. Let that reason be what you're fighting for."

At this instant, Kate realized that Matt was right. She also realized that she didn't choose this universe just for Dean but for all the people and things around Dean Winchester. At the end, as dark as this whole universe was, there were many lights brightly shinning in the shape of good people.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

When Kate finished setting the table, she glanced at Bobby and Rufus who were talking at the end of the long table and went back to the kitchen. The brunette didn't make it two steps before she stopped in shock. Her brown eyes widen as she stared at the stains of red on Matt's blue shirt. She nearly dropped the phone that she was holding against her left ear.

The grey-eyed hunter looked down at his shirt and then looked up at the brunette, an apologetic grimace on his face, "Oops."

"Oops?" She mouthed, outraged. "Are you serious?" She continued out loud.

"Um, maybe I should call back later? I –" The person on the other end of the line started.

"Don't you dare hang up on me, Chuck," Kate immediately said before pressing the phone against her chest as she returned her attention to her friend standing in front of her, his shirt dirtied with stains of red sauce. "I told you not to touch anything in the kitchen once you put on your suit."

"Sorry, I just wanted to taste test the sauce," he simply replied, licking the sauce off the spoon he was holding.

"Are you serious? You cooked with me," she walked up to him. "Actually, you were the chef and I was the assistant," she said, taking the spoon from his hand and tossing it into the sink.

"I was just checking that all those spoons of cinnamon that you put in weren't going to ruin the dinner," he briefly clarified.

"And, so?"

"And, so, nothing is ruined," he smiled, causing her to sigh in relief. But, her smile quickly vanished away as the timer on the oven beeped, announcing that the apple pie was ready to be taken out.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, her brown eyes instantly snapping to the oven. She hurriedly put her phone back against her ear. "Chuck, the apple pie is ready! Please, tell me it's a success like the pumpkin one."

"You shouldn't use the prophet's powers for that," Matt declared as he went to take out the pie.

"Um, I think Matt's right," Chuck hesitantly said on the other end of the line.

"Don't side with him and tell me if this apple pie is gonna taste good," Kate told the prophet as she nervously bit on her bottom lip.

"Y-yeah, Dean's gonna like it," Chuck responded.

"You think or you saw it?" Kate inquired, causing Matt to roll his eyes at her as he closed the oven's door with his foot and put the pie on the counter. Kate saw how beautiful the pie looked and she grunted, "Oh please, tell me you saw it. Tell me it's gonna be delicious."

"It's gonna be as good as the pumpkin one," he reassured her. "You should just hurry a bit. Sam and Dean should be there in a few."

"Okay, okay," she nodded frantically. She looked over at Matt and pointed at him, "Alright, you go change."

"What?" Chuck asked on the other end of the line. "Not you – yes, you! Of course, you, Matt – Um, Chuck, I think I'm gonna have to hang up, thanks again," she said as Matt left the kitchen to change his shirt. "It's a shame you don't celebrate –"

"Please, don't say it. Just hearing the word gives me goosebumps," he interrupted her.

"You'll have to tell me the backstory one day," Kate said.

"Yeah, maybe… Maybe not," he mumbled.

"Talk to you soon," she softly said.

"Yeah," he replied before she hung up.

She tossed her phone on the counter since she couldn't keep it on her as she was wearing a pocket-less skirt.

Quickly, Kate grabbed the bowl of sauce and went to put it on the table. Then, she took off her apron and looked at the setting of the table for a moment, tilting her head to side.

"The table looks good, Kate," Bobby declared, causing her to look over him where he sat at the end of the table. "And, everything looks and smells great."

"Yeah," Rufus agreed from Bobby's right. "I would already be digging in if we didn't have to wait for the boys."

Kate simply smiled at them, she was touched by the fact that they had been reassuring her that she was doing an amazing job ever since she started cooking and setting the table with Matt earlier in the afternoon. The instant she told them what she wanted to do, the two men agreed that it was a great idea and that it would do them all good.

Right then, the growling of the Impala's engine echoed from outside.

"They're already here?" Rufus asked.

"They're late actually; they were supposed to be here this afternoon," Bobby told him as Kate put her apron back and hurried out of the living room to the front door.

"What's the rush with the kid?" Rufus inquired with a little chuckle.

"She wants all this to be a surprise for 'em," Bobby simply explained.

"Huh, and I thought she made us dress nice just for the fun of it."

"You're dressed nice, now?" Bobby asked in his grumpy voice, his blue eyes glancing down at his friend's green, short-sleeved shirt.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rufus frowned at him, glancing down at this green shirt. He shifted his dark brown eyes back to the bearded-hunter. "At least, I ain't wearing my fed suit with an old, dirty cap on my head."

"No!" They heard Kate exclaim, causing the two old friends to quiet down and exchange questioning looks. Curious, Rufus stood up and walked to the doorway to see what was happening at the front door. "You are kidding me! You guys are covered with mud!"

"And blood," Dean said as he stood with his brother at the doorway, both carrying their duffle bag, and both entirely covered with dried mud. "So, no welcome hug, I guess?" He joked.

"I asked you both to come in your clean suits and to be shaved and all cleaned up."

"We were a bit out of time," Sam gave an apologetic face.

"Why did you even want us to wear our fed suits, anyways?" Dean asked before he suddenly noticed that she was wearing an apron on her clothes. "And, why are you wearing an apron?"

"Alright, you go upstairs, take a quick shower and put on your suit," she pointed at Dean, ignoring his question. She turned to Sam, "And, you go down the hallway, take a quick shower and dress up, too!"

"Why –" Dean began.

"No questions," she cut him off, pointing at the stairs. "Just go!"

Sam and Dean exchanged a look and then the elder brother obeyed as he went upstairs, throwing a few confused looks to the brunette and to his brother. He thought he saw Rufus standing in the living room doorway for a second, but the next second he looked over there, no one was there.

"You go, too," Kate ordered Sam.

"Alright," he drawled before passing her to go to the first floor bathroom.

"Sam, wait!" Kate called, quickly catching him. She put her hands up to his face in order to prevent him from seeing the living room while going down the hallway.

"W-what are you doing?" Sam asked, trying to push her hands away.

"Just keep walking!" She returned her hands to his face, turning it away from the living room doorway as they passed by it. Once they were past it, Kate took her hands off his face. He looked down at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Now, you can go and have a quick shower," she grinned up at him.

* * *

 _ **A short time later.**_

Sam rolled up his white shirt' sleeves as he walked out of the bathroom. His wet hair was brushed back, causing tiny drops of water to slide down the back of his neck. The hot shower had relaxed him to the point of not wondering anymore why Kate insisted on him and Dean putting on these clothes. When he heard footsteps, he looked up to see his brother coming down the stairs. Their gazes immediately met and Dean raised his eyebrows and waved his hands at his suited-up-self, silently telling Sam 'What the hell'. Sam shrugged in answer as they continued walking up to the living room.

The second they arrived at the doorway, they simultaneously stopped. They couldn't believe what was before their eyes.

In the middle of Bobby's usually-messy living room, there was a long table covered with food that looked colorful and tasty. One big plate covered by a lid was settled right in front of Bobby, who was sitting at one end of the table while Rufus was at the other. Kate and Matt were sitting along one side of the table. When Kate stood up, Sam and Dean realized that she was wearing a fancy long-sleeved beige top. In fact, that was then that they realized all of them were wearing rather fancy clothes.

"Why don't you join us?" Kate asked them, pointing to the two empty chairs across from her and Matt.

Sam and Dean went to the chairs and sat down at the table, still not understanding what it was all about.

"What's going on?" Dean asked as he looked at the brunette sitting across him.

At this right moment Bobby uncovered the big plate, causing Sam and Dean to look over him. They were awe struck to see a huge oven cooked turkey as they saw that it was an appetizing, big turkey.

"It's Kate's idea, so don't look at me like that," Bobby told them while Rufus chuckled.

The two brothers turned to the young woman, stunned expressions painted on their faces.

Kate softly smiled at them, "Happy thanksgiving."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Hey there!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was quite slow on the action. This chapter needed to be done so that we could move on to the next part of Kate's journey in our boys' world. That doesn't mean there won't be any more mention of Kate's time with Mary Winchester, though. Next chapter will be settled in the episode 'Swap Meat', so I think it's gonna be a fun reading for you :)

This chapter was beta-read by ' **Irishlass07'** who offered her help as soon as she saw that **'Igotzapped'** couldn't beta-read my previous chapters. ' **Irishlass07'** did an amazing job and was ultra-quick, too. So, you can all thank her because otherwise this chapter would have probably taken longer to be here and it wouldn't have been as well-edited as it is now! Also, I wanted to say that ' **Igotzapped'** has been busy as a bee lately, but I'm pretty sure she'll be back to beta-read soon. So maybe I'll get the chance to work with these two brilliant people :)

Thank you for all the new readers who gave a shot at my story and are now following me and my story. And, also thank you for putting it into your favorites! Hopefully you'll keep on enjoying my little story!

And, now it's time to answer to all the reviews of last chapter:

 **Klandgraf2007:** Yes! Haha. Thanks for the review!

 **Guest (February, 27** **th** **, 2016):** I'm happy you enjoyed last chapter that much. Also, thank you for washing me with relief for Kate and Dean's first kiss. I really was afraid that it was going to be too cliché, or that it was going to be not romantic enough... Anyways, thank you for the review!

 **Guest (February, 27** **th** **, 2016) :** Thank you for the review!

 **Guest (March, 1** **st** **, 2016):** Well, yeah, I'm still writing that story… I am aware that there are many other fics out there that are better than mine, but that doesn't mean I should stop writing. If you don't like my story, you could have let a well-constructed review to tell me so instead of calling my story dumb…

 **RomainieSweetheart:** So happy that you liked their first kiss! And, yeah, I also still can't believe that you guessed right about Kate's blood and how she got into a different world… Great minds think alike ;)! I know that what I did to Mary was a bit cruel, but it needed to be done so that the storyline (and actually, the plotline, too) could keep going. Even though, the characters are gonna sort of move on from these events (the difficult two months for the hunters, and the sad, long week for Kate), they won't forget what happened. But, you'll see all of that in the upcoming chapters. Thank you for reviewing!

 **JessieQ95:** Thank you for your 2 reviews! I'm really happy you enjoy the story and that you loved Kate and Dean's first kiss!

 **TheGirlWhoWaitedAgain:** So happy you loved last chapter. Also, thank you for your sweet words! As you may have noticed, there wasn't much of Bobby in this chapter, but soon you'll get more parts with our favorite grumpy hunter. Because like you pointed out, everyone has a part in Kate's journey ;)

 **Emily:** I am so relieved that you think the kiss was perfect! Kate is like the Winchesters when it comes to guilt, so it's gonna take her some time to truly and completely understand that she really couldn't have done anything. I'm happy you enjoyed all these moments of last chapter!

 **Noor:** Aw thank you for your review! I'm sorry I took some time to update, but here you got it the 16th chapter. I hope you enjoyed it as much as the previous ones.

 **Sally:** "Could Kate really have changed Mary's fate?" Well, you're asking the same question than Emily ("Could Kate have changed things and saved Mary though?"), and as a fan of the show I would tell you that nothing would have changed Mary's tragic destiny (as shown in episode 4x03 'In the Beginning' when Dean goes back in time for the first time, and also shown in episode 5x13 'The Song remains the Same'). But, as the writer of this story, well, I think you'll have to wait and see ;). Anyways, I'm happy you enjoyed last chapter and that you liked Kate and Mary's bond that much.

Thank you everyone for reading! Take care of you and your dear ones,

A.


	17. Chapter 17

_**The beautiful beta-read of this chapter was done by 'Irishlass07'! Thank you again for your great work :)**_

 _ **This chapter is settled during the episode 'Swap Meat' (5x12).**_

 _ **Sorry for taking a bit long to update… But, here you go! I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter!**_

* * *

 _ **Ten days later.**_

 _ **Housatonic, Massachusetts.**_

Sam, Kate and Dean were sitting in the living room of an older woman, Donna, who used to be one of the many babysitters the Winchester brothers had when their father went on long hunting trips. Strange and terrifying things had been happening in the woman's house and her daughter, Katie, had recently become the main target. It was when Sam and Dean finished a vampire hunt that they received a call from a desperate Donna. Without thinking twice, they headed off to Massachusetts, picking up Kate on their way even though the latter wasn't entirely excited about coming along.

When Kate came back, she had first been quite against the idea of going back on the road with the two brothers. Indeed, she needed time on her own and she believed that they needed time on their own, too. She was planning on going back with them after Thanksgiving, but she had noticed things during the dinner that made her understand they still needed time on their own. Indeed, Sam and Dean seemed to be more distant with each other than they were before Chronos zapped her away. She had collected bits and pieces of what happened during her absence, but none of it truly explained why the Winchester brothers seemed to have drifted further apart. Unfortunately, all the hope she had that they would work it out while on their own in North Dakota faded away when they came to pick her up.

Kate was pulled from her thought when Donna put a plate of cookies and a pitcher of lemonade on the coffee table.

"So, how long has it been?" The blonde woman asked with a smile.

"The summer before 6th grade," Sam replied after a moment during which Donna started to fill the glasses with lemonade.

"Mhmm, I remember," she nodded. "You assigned yourself your own reading list."

Dean chuckled, " _That's right_. I forgot about that."

"Your mom happens to be the _best_ babysitter we ever had," Sam told the teenager in a gentle tone that brought a smile to the face of the young woman sitting beside him.

"Well, when I was a maid at the Mayflower, out on the interstate – long before you were even an idea – their daddy used to pass through town and leave the boys with me while he went off to... _work_. One time, he was gone for two weeks," Donna told her daughter.

"Two weeks?" The teenager asked, her eyes round in surprise.

"Mm-hmm. Oh, he'd always come limping back," Donna replied before looking over at Sam and Dean. "He loved you boys."

Kate did her best not to glance at Sam and Dean. Surely all the 'Supernatural' books she had read made her understand that John Winchester loved his sons. Although he hadn't always made the best of choices, there was no doubt that he truly and deeply loved his family; his sacrifice to save Dean from dying was more than proof of his love for his children.

However, it didn't change the fact that John Winchester was and would always be a rather tricky topic to talk to the Winchester brothers about. As a matter of fact, Kate very rarely ventured near that topic as she knew that it could upset them one way or another.

"Did you know what he did all that time?" Donna's daughter inquired.

"Little Sammy kept trying to tell me. Of course, I didn't believe him. Not at first, anyway," her mother replied.

Kate looked up at Sam who took a deep breath through his nostrils, trying to find out a way to explain to the young teenager what their father job was.

"Um, our dad, um, he, well," Sam struggled with the words so Kate decided to talk for him.

"Their dad happened to be an expert at getting rid of ghosts," she gently and simply explained to the young Katie who looked at her. "And now, so are they."

"That's why I called them, sweetie. They can help us," Donna said softly to her daughter, resting one hand on her knee.

"Sounds like you guys got yourself a poltergeist," Dean stated as Donna's husband stepped into the room.

"Started a month or two after we moved in," the man said in a sigh.

"Yeah, first it was, uh, just bumps and knocks and scratches on the walls. And then it started breaking things," Donna explained.

"And then it attacked Kate?" Sam asked.

"Katie," the teenager corrected in a little voice.

"Um, yeah, sorry, I'm just used of calling this one 'Kate'," he nodded at the brunette sitting between him and his brother, causing Donna to smile at the young woman.

"The attack was two nights ago," the husband declared.

"Can you show them, honey?" Donna asked her daughter.

Katie hesitated a bit before giving a little nod and standing up. She lifted her shirt to reveal words cut into her skin. The young woman sitting between Sam and Dean slightly winced at the sight, feeling bad for the teenager who looked away.

"Murdered Chylde," Sam read the words before the teenager pulled her shirt back down.

Noticing the fear painted on the teenager's face, Dean tried to reassure her, "Katie, everything's gonna be fine. I promise."

"Are you sure?" She nearly whispered as she sat down next to her mother.

"If Dean Winchester tells you everything is gonna be fine, then it means that _everything_ is gonna be fine," Kate declared, her tone firm and soft at the same time.

The teenager smiled while Dean turned his green gaze to the young woman beside him. He watched her profile as a flashback took hold of him.

" _Last night, that was… that was a nice surprise,"_ Dean said to Kate, both standing by the Impala's driver's door while waiting for Sam.

" _You've already said it. But, anyways, I'm happy you liked it,"_ she smiled up at him. _"I know you guys never had the chance to really celebrate Thanksgiving. Besides, I thought this kind of break would be good for all of us."_

" _You thought right,"_ he replied. _"And, the pies were awesome; best pies I've ever eaten."_

" _Good to know. Matt helped a lot with the baking."_

" _But, still the recipe was yours, so all credits should go to you,"_ he told her, causing a little smile to form on her lips. _"Anyways, you're sure you don't wanna come with us?"_ She gave a firm nod. Dean then dropped his gaze to his shoes and muttered, _"You're back and I hardly get to see you. You spend all your time with Bobby and Matt."_

" _Are you jealous of Bobby and Matt?"_ She teased, causing him to scoff.

" _I ain't jealous, it's just… I'm not crazy about the idea of leaving you behind."_

" _You used to like_ _ **that**_ _,"_ she once again teased, causing him to roll his eyes _. "Look, everything's gonna be fine."_

" _You don't know that."_

" _I do. You told me more than once that everything will be fine. And, I believe in you."_

Dean cleared his throat as he mentally shook the flashback away. He returned his attention to Donna and her family. "Alright, so why don't you guys take yourselves a little vacation, and, uh, we'll take care of it."

"Thank you," Donna softly nodded

* * *

 _ **An hour later.**_

As lunch time came quicker than expected, Dean decided to stop at a fast food restaurant before booking into a motel. The trio sat down at a table, taking off their jackets before skimming the menu. They didn't take long to make their choices. Dean went to order their food at the counter while Kate stayed with Sam who pulled out his laptop to do some research about their current case. While the younger Winchester had his full attention to his research, Kate went back to reading the menu. She then stood up and made her way up to the elder hunter.

"I changed my mind," she told him once she stood by his side. "Instead of the bacon burger turbo, I'll take the cheeseburger turbo. It's the same price."

"You sure?" Dean asked her and she nodded. "Alright, so," he began, turning his head to the dark-haired teenager behind the counter only to find him checking the brunette out. "Hey! Eyes up here, boy," Dean ordered in a strict voice, causing the teenager to shoot his eyes back to the hunter who was glaring at him.

The teenager gulped down and then said, "Uh, so, two bacon burger turbo, two large chilli-cheese fry, uh, and a Health Quake Salad shake?"

"No, the lady changed," Dean declared as Kate looked up at him. "She'll have a cheeseburger turbo."

"Alright, so two bacon burger turbo, two large chilli-cheese fry, uh, and one cheeseburger turbo?"

"Uh no. The cheeseburger replaces one of the bacon burgers," Kate clarified for the teenager. In return, she and Dean earned a look mixed with confusion and some kind of judgment from the teenager.

"Alright. So, a bacon burger turbo, a cheeseburger turbo, two large chilli-cheese fry and a… a Health Quake Salad shake," he drawled out the end of his sentence.

"I know. I know. It's, uh…" Dean cleared his throat. "It's not ours."

The teenager didn't say anything as he went to get the cheeseburger turbo. Dean sighed, leaning one hand on the counter as he turned his head to the brunette next to him. She was squinting her eyes, trying to read the words written in tiny capitals on the posters behind the counter. Dean's eyes started to travel all over her, from her loose curly hair to her lips that she bit. When his gaze started to go south, he noticed that the two upper buttons of her black shirt were open, showing off a bit of her generous cleavage.

"Here you go," the teenager's voice brought Dean's attention back to him. Immediately, he pulled his hand away from the counter and grabbed one tray while Kate took the other.

"Thanks," she politely smiled to the teenager before following Dean to their table.

The elder hunter sat down opposite his little brother while Kate took her seat next to Sam who immediately grabbed his salad-shake and the salad dressing from the tray she put down. The brunette watched him as he put the dressing in his salad, never taking off his eyes from his laptop's screen. Then he started to shake the salad-shake very thoroughly, causing Dean to look up at him as well.

"Oh, you shake it up, baby," Dean told him, deadpan. Kate chuckled and Dean rolled his eyes at his brother who kept shaking his salad-shake.

"You do know that salad in a place like this, is just as healthy as a burger, right?" Kate asked Sam in a matter-of-factly tone.

"That's what you say," Sam replied.

"No, it's a true fact," Kate told him. "But, if you'd rather stay stubborn instead of believing me, then, please, just keep shaking your salad."

Sam lightly sighed, deciding to ignore Kate's comment as he kept on shaking his salad.

Dean shook his head and then said, "You know, Sam, poltergeist aside, Donna looked pretty good, don't you think?"

"Dude, don't tell me you've still got the hots for our babysitter," Sam replied.

"What? No. That's weird," Dean chuckled, throwing a glance at Kate, only to see that she was busy searching for something on her tray. "I'm just saying that she, you know, she – she's – she's doing good. You know, with her husband, her kid. This whole Amityville thing being thrown at them and they're hanging tough."

"Yeah," Sam simply said as Kate looked over at Dean's tray.

"Mmh. I'll be right back," the brunette declared, standing up.

Dean watched her as she walked to the counter and talked to the teenager who had served them.

"You ever think that you'd want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine?" Dean asked, his green eyes glued to the brunette in a thoughtful way.

"No, not really my thing anymore," Sam replied before looking up at him. He followed his brother's gaze, only to see that it was glued to Kate. "Do you?"

Dean shifted his eyes back to his little brother who was already staring back at him.

"How do you drink your sodas without straws, huh?" Kate said as she came back and handed them each a straw.

"So, what do you got?" Dean asked his brother, changing the topic.

Of course, it didn't go unnoticed by the younger Winchester who glanced at the brunette and then at his brother as a memory of the day following Kate's return flashed before his eyes.

" _Hey, Sam…"_ Dean had begun in a hesitant voice as they drove to their hunt in Bismarck, North Dakota.

" _Yeah?"_ Sam had said, turning his head to his big brother.

" _Um, I was wonderin' since you've already been in these kinds of situations. Um, what…"_ Dean had started before looking over at Sam. _"No. Nothing. Drop it. It's stupid anyway."_

" _C'mon, man. I can see that something's been bothering you since we left Sioux Falls."_

" _It's just…"_ Dean had glanced at him before returning his gaze to the road ahead of them. _"What does it mean when a chick tells you that… that you'll figure it out; like you'll figure out what's between you and her; what does that mean?"_

" _We're talking about Katie, right?"_ Sam had stated more than asked. Dean had remained quiet, simply shifting uncomfortably in his seat. _"Is there a context around that sentence?"_

" _That was right after… after we kissed."_

" _Really? I don't recall her telling you this, yesterday."_

" _No. That was today,"_ Dean had replied, causing Sam's eyebrows to shoot up. _"She kissed me."_

" _Then, you have nothing to worry about,"_ Sam had responded, a little knowing smile on his lips.

" _Actually, I think I have everything to worry about,"_ Dean had declared, a deeply worried look crossing his face and causing Sam to feel concerned for him.

Sam broke away from his flashback when Kate started to wave her hand in front of his face.

He looked at her and she said, "So, did you find something?"

"Um, yeah," he replied before clearing his throat. He looked down at his laptop's screen. "So, uh, well, that house of theirs, it's old – really old, um, hundreds of years old and I found a legend. It's unconfirmed, but still."

"Saying?" Kate and Dean asked in sync.

"Supposedly, in the 1720s, the house was owned by a guy named Isaiah Pickett," he turned the laptop so that both Kate and Dean could see. "Legend has it he hung a woman in his backyard for witchcraft – a woman named Maggie Briggs."

"So, you think it's an angry ghost-witch?" Kate asked, pushing up her sleeves and grabbing her cheeseburger with her fingers.

"If it's true," Sam shrugged. "That still doesn't explain what 'Murdered Chylde' means."

"Or where the bitch is buried," Dean declared before taking a large bite of his burger.

"You know, I mean, it's a long way back, but I can see if I can find something in the town records," Sam suggested.

"It's worth a shot," Kate stated. "Want me to help?"

"Might take hours, so why not," Sam replied with a friendly smile.

"Your help is welcome too, Dean," Kate told Dean.

"I know," he replied, his mouth full. "But, that doesn't mean it's necessary. Besides, you two are so intelligent that I'm sure you'll be alright researching on your own," he grinned, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

Sam quietly watched them, his brother's words echoing in the back of his mind and making him wonder when exactly his brother had started to think that way about life.

" _You ever think that you'd want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine?"_

* * *

 _ **Later that day.**_

The sun had already set and it was raining heavily when Kate got out of the library where she had spent five hours looking through the town records with Sam. With her black jacket over her head, she ran to the Impala that was parked just across the street. She pulled open the passenger seat and climbed in, taking the seat that was usually reserved for the younger Winchester.

"Hey," Dean greeted her, a smile instantly forming on his lips at seeing her again after all those hours without her.

"Hey," she said back as she took her jacket to hold it above her lap so that no raindrops would get on his car's interior. "Why didn't you park in front of the library?"

"I did. Then some security guy told me to move," he replied, taking the jacket from her and gently tossing it on the backseat.

"But, your seats…" She trailed off, looking back and forth at her jacket and the hunter.

"It's fine," he told her. "So, since you took the front seat, I assume Sam's not coming?"

"I tried to get him to come, but he insisted on spending one more hour. He said he'll meet us at the motel. Speaking of which," she slipped her cellphone out of her pants pocket. "I have to text him the name of the motel; so which one did you book us in?"

"The Lucky Star motel," he replied, his green eyes roaming her profile as she started to type on her cellphone.

"Wait," she looked up at him. "Is it the one we passed by after lunch?"

"Yep."

"Alright," she went back to typing away on her cellphone. "Which room?"

"I booked two rooms," Dean said as he took three keys out of his leather jacket's pocket. "102 and 103." Kate glanced over at him, to see that he was holding two keys for the room 102 and one for the room 103.

"Then, maybe, I should give him his key, now?" she suggested.

"Why not?" He replied, giving her one of the keys before tossing the others on the dashboard.

She grabbed her jacket from the backseat and then looked down at the key he gave her. She slightly froze as she saw the number written on it. "Um… Are we… Are we sharing a room?"

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I don't wanna seem too prude or whatever, but I don't know if, um... I mean we've already shared a room before and even a bed, but that was different, so…" She trailed off, her cheeks turned a shade of red.

Dean glanced down at the key and immediately realized why she was stuttering and blushing.

"What? No! Damn, no!" He exclaimed. "I mean, yeah, it was different. But, that's not what you think. _That's_ your key. And, that's Sam's," he grabbed one of the other keys and handed it to her. "You've got your own room. I-I didn't mean to—"

"Oh okay, alright," she cut him off. "That's okay. That was just a little misunderstanding, but that's okay. That's fine, that's okay," she rambled, before quickly taking the other key from his hand. "Um, I'll be right." She abruptly stepped out of the car, almost stumbling down as she dropped her jacket on the car's floor.

"Wait your jacket!" Dean called after her.

"No, that's fine. A little rain never hurt anyone," she nervously laughed before closing the door and then running back to the library.

"Fuck," Dean grunted, throwing his head back and closing his eyes tight. He rubbed his hand down his face and opened his eyes, "I screwed up. I _majestically_ screwed up."

Exhaling a long sigh, he reached for his inside pocket and pulled out a book that he had secretly bought when he was in North Dakota with Sam.

' _How to make it work? First time in a serious relationship.'_

Dean looked around him, as though afraid that someone would catch him reading this kind of book. He rapidly turned the pages until he got to the chapter he was looking for.

' _You made an awkward comment or an awkward action? Here are a couple of easy steps to swiftly sweep awkwardness away.'_

Dean's eyebrows knitted together as he skimmed the paragraphs, hopping to quickly get a couple pieces of advices before Kate came back. He had bought this book when he realized that he wouldn't be able to get some rest until he found out what was the meaning behind what she had said to him after kissing him. That woman at the bookstore had told him that this book would help him understand, but so far he didn't get it and the words that Kate had said, kept running in the back of his mind.

The brunette had surprised him by kissing him that day in front of Bobby's front door. Needless to say, it hadn't taken him long to kiss her back. Then, she had broken the kiss, but he had quickly kissed her again, unable not to do so. Dean could remember with clarity how intense that second kiss had quickly become until Kate had, once again, pulled away.

She had stepped back, her cheeks as red as her swollen lips and had said in a nearly shy voice, _"W-we should get inside and tell Bobby that you're taking that case in North Dakota."_

" _Yeah, right,"_ Dean had replied. _"And, what about… What about us?"_

" _We'll figure it out,"_ she had softly smiled and then turned to push the front door open, leaving Dean to wonder what she meant by that.

An old truck noisily drove by the impala, causing Dean to look up from the book, only to spot Kate as she stepped out of the library. Quickly, he moved his gaze back down to the book and skimmed through a few words and sentences. When he heard the door opening, he hurriedly and clumsily dropped the book to his side.

Once Kate sat down frowned at the almost guilty expression on his face, as he looked at her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he quickly said. "You're soaked wet."

"Well, it's raining quite hard outside," she replied.

"Right," he nodded, then started the car. "I think there are some napkins in the glove compartment."

"I don't think that's gonna be that helpful," she replied, bending down to take her jacket from the floor as he started to drive to the motel. "I'll take a shower and get changed at the motel anyways."

"Alright, let's go then," he pulled the lever and made his way down the street before turning right. He glanced at the brunette to see that she had put her jacket on her lap and was now gathering her wet brown hair over one shoulder.

He tried to remember the few things that he had read just before she came back.

 _Step One: Start by making a small conversation._

"Um, so, you didn't say," Dean started, causing Kate to look over at him. "What you guys found in the town records?"

"Oh, well, nothing," she sighed. "We didn't even find anything that proved a certain Maggie Briggs ever existed; which is why Sam insisted on digging for another hour. What about you? How did the interviews go?"

"Half of the people never heard of her, and the other half thought that making up an answer would let them win a ticket to Hawaii."

Kate lightly chuckled, causing Dean to glance at her before returning his green eyes to the road.

 _Step Two: Frankly talk about what brought the awkwardness._

"Kaitlin, about earlier," he began tentatively and she looked at him. "I didn't mean to hand you the wrong key; I mean it wasn't on purpose."

"Yeah, I know," she gave a quick smile to him as he glanced at her.

"Good," he nodded, tapping his fingers on the wheel as he fixed at the road for a few seconds of silence. "Because, I-I know we're not there, yet."

"Yeah, we still got to figure it out," she declared, looking up at his profile, only to be confused by the annoying look that covered his whole face.

"What's wrong?" She genuinely asked him.

 _Step 3: Don't forget: awkward is fleeting. But, it doesn't really take a genius to_ _ **figure it out**_ _, does it?_

" _ **We'll figure it out."**_ Kate's voice echoed in the back of his head.

"Nothing," he muttered, stepping on the gas to get quicker at the motel, and hopefully leave behind these 'figuring-out' things that were starting to annoy him.

* * *

Once at the motel, Dean and Kate immediately went to their respective rooms. One to shower and change, the other to settle his bag and his brother's. Fortunately, those twenty minutes apart made it possible for the awkwardness between them to vanish away. When Kate joined him in his room, she continued researching for the case on the internet while Dean cleaned his weapons, classic rock music blasting in the background. With their minds filled with questions about what was happening between them, they glanced at each other several times, neither catching the other. However, all these thoughts were quickly replaced with concern when they realized that Sam was taking way too long to get to the motel. The younger Winchester had called them when he left the library, but that was two hours ago and everytime they tried to get a hold on him, it went to voicemail.

Kate and Dean looked in vain for him for nearly two hours when they returned to the motel. The brunette went to ask the receptionist if he saw anyone that matched Sam's physical description while Dean made his way to his room. The second he pushed the door open, he stopped at the sight of Sam casually standing there.

"Sam! Where the hell you been, man? Kaitlin and I have been trying to call you for hours," Dean told him as he pushed the door to let it open ajar.

"I picked up some food. Bacon burger turbo, large chilli-cheese fry. Oh and cheeseburger turbo, too, right?" Sam handed him the bag of food from the same fast food joint they had lunch at earlier. "Sorry, man. Really. I-I just – I lost track of time. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"Thanks. Don't know why it took you two hours, but thanks," Dean replied when Kate pushed the door open.

"Sam!" She exclaimed, causing the younger Winchester to turn to her and look at her with slightly wide eyes. "Where have you been?"

"Um, I…"

"He picked up some food," Dean replied as he put a few fries in his mouth.

"I thought we were supposed to eat Chinese tonight," Kate slightly pouted as she took off the parka coat that she had decided to put on after the heavy rain. She tossed it on the little sofa next to the front door and threw her cellphone on top of it. She approached the brothers and looked up at Sam. She was instantly confused by the strange and unfamiliar look he was giving her. "Are you okay?"

"I, uh, y-yeah," he stammered, causing Dean to frown at him. "I think you guys might wanna eat that on the road."

"Why?" Dean asked him as the brunette managed to steal a couple of fries out of the bag before Dean closed it.

"Um, the maid came in, and saw that," he pointed at the weapons laying out on the table for cleaning. "And now they're all kind of freaking out."

"I told you this would happen someday!" Kate pointing two fries at Dean. "You're always leaving all of your weapons lying around as though they were just toys."

"Alright, I don't need the 'I-told-you-so' speech, Kaitlin," Dean told her before looking at his brother. "Why'd you let the maid in?"

"It just happened," Sam simply responded and Dean scanned his brother's face for a moment, a bit surprised by that answer.

"Whatever. I gotta hit the head and then we'll take off," Dean declared before walking to the bathroom.

"I told him to put everything back in the bag before leaving the room," Kate sighed as she went to grab the duffle bag where Dean had taken the weapons from earlier. She started to gather the weapons in the bag while Sam's eyes started to travel from her hair down to her back and lower. "You gonna help or you gonna watch?" Kate asked, turning to him.

His gaze snapped up to meet hers.

"Oh, um, yeah, sorry, Kaitlin," he replied and then hurriedly went to gather the weapons in the bag. She stopped her movements and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"What did you say?"

"Um, 'sorry'?"

"No, you called me Kaitlin."

"Well, t-that's..."

"Sam, you sure you're okay?" Kate asked as concern filled her. She lifted one hand and rested it on his forehead. "You're a little hot."

"You have no idea," he mumbled.

"What?" She asked, slowly taking her hand away.

"What?" He repeated, causing her to squint her brown eyes at him in puzzlement. Kate turned to the bathroom's door and Sam took advantage of that moment to sneakily grab his brother's cellphone. "You know what? You're right. I'm not feeling really well. So, I'll be waiting outside," he told her, walking backwards until he reached the door.

"Sure. Just wait for us in the car."

"Yeah, right. The 1967 Chevrolet Impala, huh?"

"That'd be the one."

"Awesome," he said, causing Kate to raise her eyebrows at him again. "Um, I'll be there," he said as he opened the door. Kate turned her attention back to the weapons, missing when Sam took her cellphone before walking out.

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

Once Kate finished helping Dean put the weapons into his and Sam's bags, since the latter hadn't bothered to bring his own bag – she went to her room and swiftly grabbed all her stuff. When she stepped out, Dean was leaning on the wall right next to the door, waiting for her.

"You good?" He asked her, nodding at her duffle bag that he usually carried for her without even asking.

"Yeah," she nodded. Although her bag was well-stuffed, it wasn't that heavy; besides she wasn't going to give him a third duffle bag to carry to the car. She grabbed the bag of fast food from him and asked, "Are you sure we should leave the keys in the rooms? I mean, only the maid saw the weapons in your room, so I could bring the keys to the man at the reception without raising any suspicion."

Dean shook his head, "He saw you with me when we went to look for Sam. We better just leave before the cops get their ass down here."

"Right," she sighed and without another word they quickly headed for the parking lot.

Once there, Dean quickly put the two duffle bags in the trunk while Kate sat in the backseat with her bag and the bag of food beside her. She looked over at Sam who was caressing the car's dashboard as though it was the first time he ever saw one. She was concerned about him and suddenly realized that he hadn't even bought dinner for himself whereas he had spent all these hours in the library consuming coffee and only coffee. She was going to ask him if he grabbed a bite before coming to the motel when Dean opened his door.

"Hey. You ready?" The green-eyed hunter asked his little brother.

"Absolutely," Sam replied and Dean got in.

"I saw a motel with a "Vacancy" sign out about ten minutes from here," Kate started to say, opening the bag of food to take a couple of French fries. "You know, the one with the big blue sign that we passed earlier."

"Yeah," Dean turned to her. "But, I think we're gonna go the Cloverleaf Motel over on Route 6. Better be a bit further from here."

"Hey, can I drive?" The younger Winchester asked out of the blue.

Both Kate and Dean turned their heads to him. They stared at him for a moment; Dean unsure of what to say and Kate confused by the sudden request.

"Alright," Dean drawled out, glancing at Kate who lightly shrugged at him.

As the brunette returned her attention to the bag of fast food, the brothers walked out and switched seats. She lifted her head and amusedly smiled as she saw the back of Dean's head in front of her instead of Sam's.

"Oh, this is so _sweet_!" Sam exclaimed, revving the engine, which inevitably caused Dean and Kate to stare at him with puzzlement as to what he was doing.

"You want to get the lead out, Andretti?" Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on." Sam nodded and put the car into gear. "Reverse," Dean warned but Sam seemed to ignore him or didn't understand what his big brother was telling him. "Reverse!"

Suddenly, the tires squealed as the car shot backwards and hit the dumpster, causing the young woman's hands to instantly grab the edge of the back of the front seats. Brown eyes wide and mouth agape, Kate stared at Sam in disbelief.

"It's in reverse," Dean told him with an almost glare, to which Sam replied with an apologetic grimace on his face.

Dean didn't say anything further, he opened his door and got out of the car. Sam glanced at Kate as she got out as well and he eventually did the same.

"It looks okay," Kate hesitantly told Dean as he surveyed the damage. "Just some trash to get rid of," she continued, sweeping the trash off the trunk with her hand. "See?" Dean looked at her and then over at Sam who was giving him the same apologetic grimace.

"I am really, _really_ sorry," Sam told him.

"Shut up," Dean ordered him and Sam dropped his head. "Just get in the car."

Sam immediately did as told; going back to his usual passenger seat. Kate followed him with her eyes, feeling slightly more worried about him. All she hoped for was that a good night of sleep would help him feel better the next day.

* * *

After a quick, but awkward road trip filled with weird questions or remarks from Sam, the trio reached the Cloverleaf Motel on route 6. While the brothers took their bags out of the trunk, Kate went to book them rooms, only to find that there was just one room left. Of course, she still booked them all in and took an extra blanket from the old lady at the reception. When they got to the room, Kate could feel Sam's eyes glued on her while she opened the door. It got her to wonder even more of what was wrong with the younger Winchester since she left him at the library earlier.

The brunette pushed the door open and walked in, followed by Dean and then Sam. The room was a pretty big one with a petite kitchen side on their right and a table of three by the window on their left. A little decoration with plants separated that kitchen space with the space where there were two queen beds, a brown couch, an armchair and a television.

"I call dibs on this one," Sam declared, tossing his duffle bag on one of the queen beds on his way to the bathroom.

When he slammed the door behind him, Kate and Dean exchanged a look. Before Chronos zapped Kate away for a certain period of time, the young woman had gone on quite a few hunting trips with the Winchester brothers, and everytime they ended in a room with only two beds, Sam always offered her to take his even though she never accepted it. She realized that he had to be really tired for him to forget his usual gentleman manners.

Looking over at the bathroom's door, Kate started to feel bad for leaving him finish an extra hour or more of research by himself when Dean's voice suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts.

" _And_ , I call dibs on the couch. You can knock yourself out on the other bed."

"What?" Kate frowned, watching Dean as he went over to the couch. "That's ridiculous, Dean. The couch's too small for you. You're gonna wake up with back pain, tomorrow morning."

"Nah. I'll be fine," he waved one hand at her as he dropped his bag on the couch.

" _Nah_. You won't," she said, going next to him to drop the extra blanket and her own bag next to his. She looked up at him, her brown eyes meeting his green ones.

"The couch's small for you, too," he remarked.

"I can curl up in it," she stated.

"So can I," he replied, causing her to playfully roll her eyes at him.

"Take the bed, Dean," she eventually ordered. " _Now_ ," she added in a serious tone, surprising him.

"Fine," he grabbed his bag and walked to the bed that hadn't been claimed by his little brother. "Bossy," he muttered.

"What did you just say?" She asked, turning to him.

"Nothing," he mumbled as he dropped his bag on the bed and then shrugged his leather jacket off.

Kate jokingly squinted her eyes at him in suspicion, causing Dean to let out a light breathy chuckle as he watched her take off her parka coat to hang it on the coat rail by the door. At this moment the bathroom's door opened and Sam walked out, taking his jacket off to throw it at the end of his bed before flinging himself full-length on the bed.

"You okay, man?" Dean inquired, watching him with curious eyes.

"Oh, yeah, I'm great," Sam replied, watching the brunette as she pulled her sleeping clothes out of her bag and then stopped to look at him with the same curious look than Dean. "I mean I think I caught a little bug in the stomach. But, um, nothing to worry about," he stammered.

"I told you salads were evil," Dean declared.

"If you still don't feel well in an hour, I put some medicine for that in the first-aid kit," Kate gently told him, walking to the bathroom.

"Don't worry, I'm sure a good night of sleep will cure me," he told her, his hazel eyes following her until she arrived at the bathroom's doorway.

"If you say so," she softly smiled at him before getting in the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

"Gosh, she's dreamy, isn't she?" Sam whispered with a smile.

"What?" Dean asked, surprise flashing all over his freckled face.

"What?" Sam repeated and Dean's eyebrows knit together as he stared at his little brother. "You know what? I think I'll take that medicine she's talked about," he put one hand on his stomach and sat up.

"Right… I'll go get the kit," Dean said, heading for the door.

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

Kate remained quiet for most of the morning, she was too busy observing Sam to talk. Indeed, there was something odd about the young man, but she couldn't point a finger on it. Not only had he spent the previous night showing with excitement how many push-ups he could do without getting tired, but he had also seemed a bit too enthusiastic this morning while ordering his breakfast at the diner. The fact that Dean didn't seem to notice the weird behavior of his little brother made Kate wonder if she wasn't over-thinking it all. After all, Dean knew Sam better than anyone. When they left the diner, ready to get back on working the Maggie Briggs case, Kate decided to shake off all these questions swirling in her mind.

"So, uh, where we going, anyway?" Sam asked as they walked to the Impala parked across the diner.

"To work," Dean replied, giving him a funny look.

"To work," Sam drawled, confusion crossing his face.

"The _case_ ; ring a bell?" Kate said, causing Sam to look at his left where she was.

"Oh, right. Yeah – the case. Of course," Sam nodded before turning to his brother. "Where, uh, do you want to start?"

"Well, since you couldn't find where the bitch was buried, now we have to do an all-day tombstone roll to see if we can dig her up," Dean replied.

"I don't wanna do this," Kate grimaced, thrusting her hands in her parka coat's pocket.

"We've got no choice," Dean told her.

"I know, but it's just so disrespectful for all the other dead people," she declared as they approached the Impala. "There's gotta be a way to find where Maggie Briggs is buried without having to defile an entire graveyard."

"Wait," Sam cut in. "M-Maggie Briggs? You mean, like – like, the witch Maggie Briggs?"

"Yeah, Sherlock," Dean sighed, taking his car keys out of his pocket.

"Yeah, she's in the basement," Sam half-exclaimed.

"Come again? W-what basement?" Dean asked while Kate stared at Sam.

"Isaiah Pickett's house. Okay, there's this legend that he hung her, but he didn't. The real truth is that she was carrying his illegitimate child and he killed her and then buried her in the basement."

"The murdered child. That would explain the scratches," Dean thoughtfully said.

"How do you know all this?" Kate inquired, frowning up at the tall man standing beside her.

"Oh, I've done all kinds of research on it," he replied, causing surprise to paint on Dean and Kate's faces. "I mean, you know, last night. When you guys fell asleep."

"Yeah," Dean nodded slowly. "Nice work... I guess." He looked over at Kate who kept staring at Sam. "Hey, no defiling tons of graves. Relieved?"

She turned her brown eyes to him and blinked a couple of times before nodding at him, "Yeah."

They got into the car and Dean started the car while Kate once again shook off all her questioning about Sam's late behavior. Dean turned on the radio to Bob Seger's " _Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets_ " softly playing through the speakers.

"Aw, man, turn it up!" Sam exclaimed with a smile.

Dean stopped checking the car's surroundings and turned to his brother, "Seriously?"

"Hell yeah!" Sam smirked.

Dean moved his gaze to the brunette on the backseat, their eyes met and he gave a little shrug accompanied with the ghost of a smile and then turned the music up. Kate moved her gaze to the back of Sam's head while Dean put his arm along the back of the frontseat so that he could reverse the Impala out of where he had parked it. He glanced at Kate and was puzzled by the way her brown eyes were intensively staring at the back of his brother's head.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later.**_

With Sam's precise directions, Dean drove to Isaiah Pickett's house in less than half an hour. However, they had to wait a good couple of hours to get inside the abandoned house. Indeed, the neighborhood watch had hired a tenacious security guard three months ago to stop intruders from squatting in the house after it apparently happened a few times. Even the fake FBI badges didn't persuade that security guard to let them in. As long as the head of the neighborhood watch didn't give him the go ahead to let someone in, he would prevent anyone from entering. Eventually, Kate had managed to get the phone number of the head of the neighborhood watch and she made him order the security guard to let them in the abandoned house. One more minute and Dean would have certainly lost his patience and just punched the security guy unconscious. After getting the permission to enter the premises, Dean at the speed of light gathered all the materials they needed for the salt and burn.

With flashlights in their hands, Dean led the way down to the basement as Sam and Kate followed him. They were all looking around with the brunette throwing a few confused glances at Sam. Sure, it had been a while since she last hunted with them, but she was certain that the younger Winchester never held his shotgun in such a weird way. Slightly bent down as though trying to move with stealth, Sam was aiming every which way like a child pretending to be James Bond.

"Boo-yah!" He exclaimed, surprising both Kate and Dean who stared at him. "Master chief is in the house, bizatches!"

"Are you all right?" Dean asked, eyeing his brother with curiosity.

"Yeah. Fine," Sam quickly replied.

Dean shifted his green gaze to Kate, only to find her staring at Sam with frowned eyebrows.

"Kaitlin?"

"Mmh?" The brunette turned her attention to the elder Winchester.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," Dean sighed before turning around. Kate glanced at Sam again and then walked to Dean.

"Well, I'll be damned," Dean declared as he stopped in front of a surface of the floor made of dirt and what looked like some green grass.

"Is that… Willow moss?" Kate asked, standing next to him.

"Yep," he replied, looking down at her. He watched her profile for a moment. There was something bothering her. He could see that, but he couldn't point a finger on it.

"Yeah, right," Sam said from his spot. "Willow moss, it's, uh, supposed to grow over witches' graves, right?"

Dean slowly turned his head to his little brother, "Yeah."

Kate looked up at Dean and then at Sam who was nodding.

"We should start digging, now," the young woman stated, turning her head back to Dean.

"Right," Dean agreed.

He swung his bag off his shoulder and put it on the floor. He crouched down, zipped his bag open and took out a shovel that he handed to Kate. The young woman immediately started digging up the grave before he joined her with the second shovel.

As they kept digging, Kate couldn't help but wonder why Sam wasn't offering to switch places like he usually did. He usually always tried to get her out of the dirty part of the job. That was one of the things that made him such a gentleman compared to all the men she had met in her life. However, lately, he seemed to have forgotten all about his gentleman manners.

"Hey, man, I'm really sorry about this," Sam said from behind them.

"Sorry about what?" Dean asked.

Puzzled, Kate turned around and right then Sam flew backwards and violently hit a few shelves on the wall before falling hard on the floor.

"Sam!" Dean shouted, spinning around.

Kate quickly rushed to Sam and helped him up, "You're okay?"

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Sam shouted.

"Wait, _what_?" Kate exclaimed, utterly surprised and confused before there was a violent crash. They looked over at Dean to see that he had crashed in an old bookshelf. "We've still gotta burn the body! Come on!" She said to Sam before pulling him towards the grave.

The ghost appeared in front of them and Kate got thrown, her back hitting the wall before she fell on top of the broken shelves on the floor. She lifted her head and her eyes rounded when she saw the ghost going towards Dean who had just stood up.

Suddenly, the ghost screamed as it burst into flames and disappeared into thin air.

Kate let out a little sigh of relief, closing her eyes for half a second before he called her.

"Kaitlin!"

"I'm okay," she said as Dean crouched down next to her and then gently helped her up.

"You sure?" He asked, one hand resting on her waist and the other cupping her cheek to check out her face.

"I'm sure," she replied, wrapping one hand on his wrist to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"Guys, that was _sweet_!" Sam shouted with a grin, causing the two others to look over at him.

Dean's eyebrows shot up in surprise while Kate slightly squinted her eyes at the younger Winchester.

She could stake her life on it: something was off about Sam Winchester.

* * *

 _ **Some moment later.**_

Laying on her stomach on the couch, Kate kept her eyes glued to her journal. Sam was watching some television show, laughing out loud in an obnoxious way while Dean was out buying them food for their late lunch. The brunette could feel Sam throwing glances at her every once in a while. She even caught him ogling at her a couple of times; which made her quite uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Kate remained quiet and kept on pretending to be reading her journal. She had been doing that since they returned to the motel an hour ago. Questions about Sam's latest behavior were running widely in her head. There was something off about him and she was determined to figure it out.

"I'm heading for a shower," Sam declared, breaking the silence of the room.

Kate looked up at him, glancing down at the clothes in his arms, "Okay."

The instant Sam disappeared behind the bathroom's door, Kate waited until she heard the shower running and then slammed her journal closed. She quickly leapt up from the couch, almost stumbling down in the process and tip-toed to Sam's duffle bag at the end of his bed. She opened it and started to rummage through his belongings. She hated rummaging through stuff that wasn't hers with no permission, but this time she had no other choice. After a couple of minutes of hasty looking through his stuff, she sighed and bit on her bottom lip. There was nothing out of ordinary in his bag; nothing that could help her figure out what was wrong with him lately.

She hurriedly went to the front door to the coat rail where Sam's jacket was hanging. She rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a handkerchief, a couple of pens, a tiny notepad, a small hex-bag and his wallet.

Again, nothing out of ordinary.

Kate groaned, running her hands through her hair, she started to pace back and forth in the kitchen when the front door opened.

"Dean!" She exclaimed in a whisper.

"Hey," he greeted, holding up the bags of food. "Chinese," he grinned at her.

"We've got a problem," she told him, approaching him.

"What?" He frowned, instantly worried. He put the bags of food on the table and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Sam," she simply informed him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his green eyes filling with panic.

"What do I mean?" She asked, confused. "Haven't you noticed the way he's been acting lately?"

"What?" He furrowed his brow at her, not understanding where she was getting at.

"There's something… _Off_ about him."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I am," she replied.

"Kaitlin, there's nothing off about Sam," he sighed, taking his jacket off. "He's just a bit tired."

"No," she whispered-yelled as he hung his jacket on the coat rail. "I've seen _Tired-Sam_." She then motioned with her thumb over her shoulder and said, "That's not Tired-Sam."

"Look, in all fairness, it's been a long time since you were on a hunt with Sam and I, so maybe he just seems a bit different to you," Dean shrugged.

"No. It's been a long time since you guys were on a hunt with me, but in my point of view my last hunt with you two wasn't that long ago," she told him before glancing at the bathroom's door. "Look, I know that since my return, Sam and I haven't really had the time to call each other every day like we used to. But, that doesn't mean I've forgotten the way he acts or reacts. And that man in the bathroom is not acting nor reacting like Sam Winchester."

"Maybe, you're the one who's a bit tired?"

"What? Dean, I'm not tired. I'm perfectly fine. But, there's something off about your brother."

"Alright, so what, you think he's possessed?" He inquired in a tired sigh. He paused and frowned at the expression on her face. "Wait. You actually think he's possessed?"

"I thought so at first, but he's not. I tested him," she replied, taking Dean aback.

"Come again?"

"I tested him. Without his awareness of course. Salt, silver, a glass of Holy water. He's clean."

"Alright," Dean slowly nodded, impressed that she would do such things without telling him first; like a real hunter. He shivered at that last thought. "But, if he's clean, then what's the fuss about?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out."

"Aren't you tired of trying to figure out things?" He half-muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," he sighed, rubbing his eyelids while Kate observed him.

"Something's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"You're lying," she stated. "And, what's bothering you has got nothing to do with Sam."

"I just got a lot in mind," he replied and then continued before she asked further questions. "So back to Sam. Basically what you're saying is that you want to figure out what is off with him even though all the tests proved to you that he's fine?"

"He's not fine," she whispered, looking away crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're right, he's not fine. But, the truth is that none of us really are," he declared, causing her to shift her gaze back to him. "You forget that when you were gone for a week, we've spent two months here. I ain't gonna talk about those two months; you already know that they weren't pretty. But, you don't seem to understand what can happen in two months," he paused as Kate attentively watched him. "People change, Kaitlin. Maybe not at their core, but they change. Their ways of thinking change. Their convictions, their feelings, their hopes, their fears, _and_ their ways of acting and reacting."

"I'm aware of that, but that's not _it_ ," Kate softly whispered, shaking her head. "I'm talking about these past couple of days. You can't honestly tell me that you didn't notice all these weird little things he's been doing lately."

"You want me to be honest? I think you're over-thinking, Kaitlin," he told her, going over the table.

"So, you think that Sam's excitement over a casual ghost hunt is normal?" She asked, watching him as he started to take the food out of the bags.

"I'd rather see him excited over a casual hunt than anything else," Dean replied. He paused, put his hands flat on the table and looked up at her. "Kaitlin, the last hunt Sam and I went to, in North Dakota, he and I barely talked. Before that, our hunt was in a looney bin where a wraith played with our minds until we became more depressed than usual. And, before that, our hunt in Carthage was filled with losses and Lucifer laughing at us." The brunette stared at him with sympathy. "The point is it's been a while since I got to see Sam smile or even randomly talk while working on a case. It's probably because you're back with us, but honestly whatever that is about, I ain't gonna complain. There's no way I'm gonna complain about seeing Sam like that."

Kate bit on her bottom lip and slowly nodded, "You must be right. I just… I've over-thought. I mean, it's not like it's the first time I've ever over-thought about anything. I'm sorry, I bothered you with that."

"Hey, c'mon. You just care too much; which ain't a bad thing at all," he remarked, causing her to let out a light snort. "Alright, I'm gonna get some sodas from the vending machine. I'll be right back," he grabbed what looked like a book from his jacket and walked out the door.

Kate looked at the door for a moment and then shook her head at her stupidity. Of course, Sam would be a bit different. It was the first time she was back on the road since that rueful day of September. And a long time had passed since that day, even though much less time passed from her point of view. However, she had spent some quality time with Sam when she came back and he hadn't appeared that much changed. She couldn't help but wonder if his reactions of these past couple of days was due to what she had told him about her time with his mother. It didn't make sense seeing as he was acting and reacting like his usual self when they drove to his former nanny.

"Dean's right," she sighed to herself, rubbing her forehead. "I'm over-thinking."

" _I'm too sexy for my love. Too sexy for my love!_ _"_ Sam's singing voice echoed from the bathroom as the shower stopped running _._ Kate slowly turned her head to the bathroom, her eyebrows knitting together. _"Love's going to leave me. I'm too sexy for my shirt. Too sexy for my shirt! So sexy it hurts!"_

Kate fixated the bathroom's door, clenched her jaw and through gritted teeth she said, "That is _not_ Sam."

* * *

After their late lunch, the trio returned to the motel room for a few hours; Dean taking a rather long nap, Sam watching television and Kate filling her journal with notes. The young woman continued to discreetly watch every move the taller Winchester made. She had tried to get him to talk about things that they usually talked about, but he had always managed to change the subject into something else. Kate had begun to think that it was the archangel Gabriel who was playing with her, just like how he had once played with Sam on Mystery Spot, but she had quickly waved that theory off as she remembered their last encounter with the archangel. Kate didn't know how or why, but she was certain that the tall hazel-eyed, brown-haired young man who was sharing the room with Dean and her wasn't Sam Winchester.

When Dean woke up, he had suggested on going to a bar before hitting the road, which Sam had enthusiastically agreed to. Around that time, Kate had caught Sam ogling her again, giving her an idea about how to get Dean to notice that there was something really off about Sam.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked Sam who was standing from the table they were sitting at in the crowded bar.

"I think they forgot our orders," Sam replied. "I'll be right back."

Dean's eyes followed his brother as he went to the bar and began to talk to a bartender. He grabbed his nearly empty beer and drank the last sip of it as he looked at the empty seat on his right; Kate's seat. Before the brunette went to the bathroom a couple of minutes ago, she had started to act weird. A bit distant to Dean and a bit too close to Sam. Sure, Dean knew he had no reason to be jealous of his brother; he had always been aware of their close friendship. Still, he couldn't help but feel the green-eyed monster rising up inside of him everytime Kate leaned towards Sam or playfully slapped his forearm before lingering her hand on that spot. But, what made him gnash his teeth was when Kate made a flirty comment. He could see her cheeks turn red when she did so, but still she kept on making flirty comments and to wheedle Sam in a way that he had never seen her do to anyone. Nonetheless, the weirdest thing was that she would keep on throwing pointed looks at Dean, which he didn't quite understand the meaning of.

With a glance around him, Dean pulled out of his jacket's pocket his copy of _'How to make it work? First time in a serious relationship.'_ He flipped through a few pages until his eyes spotted the title of a chapter.

 _She's flirtatious with other men. Am I losing her?_

He lifted his head and looked over at Sam, who was now talking with a waitress, pointing at their table.

Quickly, Dean returned his green eyes down to the book, skimming through the words. His eyebrows were knit together as he tried to memorize as many tips and advices as possible.

"Dean!" Kate's voice startled him. He abruptly dropped the book, but managed to catch it between his knees.

"K-Kate," he stammered, afraid that she might have seen what he was reading. But, when his green eyes landed on her, he forgot all about the book.

Her blue flannel was completely unbuttoned, showing off her tight black tank top and thus her generous cleavage. With difficulty, he teared his gaze off her cleavage to look up at her face, only to be surprised again. She was wearing a vivid red lip-stick and her hair that was put up in a loose bun earlier was now cascading loosely around her face.

"Thank God, he's not here," Kate exclaimed as she looked at Sam's empty seat.

"Um, w-what?" Dean stammered, doing his hardest not to look down at her cleavage.

"I was going to text you this, but I think I've left my cellphone in the car. But, since he's not here, we can finally talk about it. But, first, is it too much?" She motioned to her face and her chest. Dean's eyes traveled down to her cleavage and he pursed his lips out, not knowing what to say. "It is, isn't?" She sighed and hastily buttoned her flannel back up.

Dean looked up at her, "May I ask why you dolled up that much?"

"For my plan."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, sneaking a hand under the table to take the book from between his knees.

"I'm talking about what I'm doing, Dean. What I've been doing since we got here," she told him before frowning when she saw his confused face. "Don't tell me you still haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Sam asked as he suddenly appeared by their table.

"Oh, hey," Kate turned her head to him while Dean quickly and discreetly put his book back in his jacket's pocket.

"Wow, t-that lipstick," Sam exclaimed, his eyes roving along Kate's face before glancing down at her cleavage before she finished buttoning up her flannel. "I-it suits you."

"Thank you," Kate gave a wide – maybe _too_ wide – grin. "At least, you've _noticed_ ," she shifted her brown eyes to Dean.

"Hey, I've noticed, too. I'm just surprised that you're wearing that, I mean, you're used to put on just some black thing over your eyelids," Dean said in defense, causing Kate to lightly roll her eyes.

"And, here are your drinks!" The waitress Sam was talking to a few minutes ago said as she stopped at their table with a tray full of drinks. "I'm sorry, you had to remind us of your second order," she apologized to Sam.

"You even put your hair down," Dean whispered to Kate, remembering one of the advices he had read in that new book of his. "See, I _notice_ things."

"That's really not what I'm trying to get you to notice," Kate whispered, causing him to frown at her.

"Call me if you need anything," the waitress smiled to them.

"Oh, actually, would you bring me a cheeseburger with extra bacon?" Dean asked the waitress before she walked off. "And fry an egg on top of it, would you?"

"Absolutely," the waitress nodded.

"Ooh, that – that sounds good. Ditto," Sam told the waitress, causing Dean to give him a funny look.

"And you?" The waitress sweetly asked Kate.

"Um, just some French fries, please," the young brunette replied.

"Be right back with your order," the waitress promised before leaving the table.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Sam?" Dean asked, leaning on the table.

Kate's eyes snapped wide as great relief washed over her; Dean had finally noticed what she had been trying to get him to notice.

"W-what do you mean?" Sam stuttered.

Dean stared at him for a moment, "Bacon cheeseburgers now?"

"What?" Kate mouthed, looking at Dean with disbelief. He had to be kidding her.

"I don't know. I eat them, don't I? Anyways, we are celebrating," Sam replied as he lifted his shot.

"Yeah, I guess," Dean replied before looking at Kate. "Raise your glass too, Kaitlin." She clenched her jaw and did her best not to glare at him as she understood that she had to keep on carrying out her plan; which was to flirt with the so-called Sam until Dean noticed how unordinary Sam reacted to that flirtation. "Come on," Dean insisted and Kate gave a fake smile as she raised her shot up. "Nice work today."

"I had a, uh, really awesome day, guys. Seriously," Sam replied before downing his drink. Dean watched his brother for a moment then glanced at Kate as she gulped down her drink. She eyed Dean as a pensive expression crossed his face be he gulped down his own drink. "Whoo! Sweet!"

"A _really awesome_ day?" Dean asked, studying his brother's face while Kate quietly watched the interaction.

"Yeah. Why not?" Sam replied.

Dean shifted his green eyes to the brunette, immediately meeting her sparkling brown orbs. He stared at her for a moment, some parts of their conversation before lunch echoing in the back of his mind.

" _So, you think that Sam's excitement over a casual ghost hunt is normal?"_

"It was a random, D-list ghost hunt," Dean stated, moving his gaze back to his little brother. "That's – that's awesome to you?"

"I can't be in a good mood?"

"Yeah, I guess. I just…" Dean trailed off, bringing his beer up to his lips. "No, actually. It's not really your style, Sam."

"Well, then, it's a new me. I mean, come on. Why shouldn't I be happy? I've got a gun, I'm getting drunk, I got a hot chick as a friend, and," he pointed at his face, looking back and forth at Kate and Dean. "I look like this." Dean was deadpan as he stared at Sam. "I-I don't know, guys. You ever feel like your whole future is being decided for you?"

"Uh, yeah, Sam, I feel like that a lot," Dean replied, drinking another sip of his beer.

"A hot chick?" Kate repeated, disbelief obvious in her facial features and in her tone.

Sam winked at her before looking down at his plate. Kate turned her head to Dean as she reached for his thigh underneath the table. She squeezed it, causing him to shoot his eyes up at her. She gave him the most pointed look she had ever given and he questioned her with his eyes.

"No matter how much you fight it, you can't stop the plan," Sam said, pulling Dean's attention back to him. "The stupid, stupid plan. So, I don't know. I guess it's, uh, it's just nice to do a little ass-kicking for a change, that's all. Uh, you know what? I – I'm drunk," Sam chuckled. "Sorry guys. Just – just forget it. Forget all I said."

"No, no. It's all right. It's, uh… I'll drink to that," Dean declared lifting another shot. "Kaitlin?" She shook her head.

"I need to go to the Impala," she stood up and held her hand out for him to give her the keys.

"What for?" Dean asked.

"I gotta get something."

"What?" He inquired and Kate just blankly stared at him. He sighed, slipped his hand in one of his jacket's pockets and pulled out the keys. "No driving. You get your thing and you get back here." She still stared at him with a neutral look, so with no more words he gave her the keys.

Dean looked at her, wondering what was wrong with her. He sighed and turned his eyes back to Sam, only to find him with his head tilted to the side as he watched the brunette walk away. Dean cleared his throat, startling his little brother who immediately returned his attention to him.

"Sorry," Sam muttered to which Dean raised his eyebrows in answer. "So? Let's clink our glasses, huh?"

Dean didn't say anything and they clinked their shots before gulping them down. Putting aside the awkward moment of Dean catching Sam checking out Kate, the elder hunter realized something that took him aback. "Wow, you know, is it just me, or are we actually drinking together?"

"We don't do it that often, huh?" Sam remarked, causing Dean to scoff.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, we should. You're a good guy, Dean."

"Oh, you are drunk."

"Here you go," the waitress approached them with their food.

"Mmh. Thank you," Dean grabbed his plate while she put the others on the table.

"Enjoy," she smiled before going to another table.

"No, but I mean it," Sam said in a genuine tone that made Dean look up at him. "You really are a good guy."

Dean scanned his brother's face for a moment. As happy as he was to finally spend a good and fun time with his brother, he suddenly felt that something was… _off_.

Kate's voice echoed in the back of his head.

" _There's something…_ _ **Off**_ _about him."_

" _I'm talking about these past couple of days. You can't honestly tell me that you didn't notice all these weird little things he's been doing lately."_

"Mmm! The bread alone! Mmm!" Sam exclaimed chewing on his burger. "No, but seriously, she's hot."

"Who? Kaitlin?"

"Yeah, duh!" Sam replied while Dean kept on watching him. "How come we're just friends with her?"

"Well –"

"I mean, she's obviously into me," Sam cut him off, surprising Dean.

A flashback suddenly took hold of the elder Winchester.

" _I'm talking about what I'm doing, Dean. What I've been doing since we got here," she had told him before Sam came back to the table. "Don't tell me you still haven't noticed?"_

"But, I suppose our job doesn't allow these kind of serious relationships, right?" Sam continued before taking another large bite of his burger.

"I suppose, yeah," Dean half-whispered, observing Sam for a few seconds before grabbing his own burger in hands. He took a bite, his green eyes fixing at Sam as they ate in silence.

When Kate came back, her hair was gathered up in a messy ponytail and her lipstick was wiped away. From the red stains on her flannel's sleeve, she had obviously wiped it in a not glamorous way. She looked a bit agitated, but didn't say much when Dean asked her. Dean had also noticed how confused Sam was when Kate didn't make any flirtatious comments towards him.

They ended up eating their dinner with very few exchange of words until Sam declared that he wanted another drink.

The second he stood up and walked off the table, Kate turned to Dean, "Where's your phone?"

"What?"

"Your phone, where is it?"

"Um, in my pocket," he hesitantly replied and she held her hand out. Dean slipped his hand in the pocket he usually put his cellphone inside and within a second a frown formed on his face when he couldn't find his device. He searched inside his other pockets, his frown increasing.

"Can't find it, huh? I haven't found mine in the car either."

"We must have left them at the motel."

"What about the other cellphones you keep in your glove compartment?" She inquired and he gave her a confused look. "They weren't there either. I think someone hid them."

"You think that's Sam's doing?"

"Yes. Except that it's not Sam," she replied. "I could stake my life on it. That guy is _not_ Sam." Dean stared at her for a moment and then looked at Sam's empty chair. "You've got doubts, too, now, right?"

"He… He did say a few weird things," Dean admitted. "But, c'mon, Kaitlin! You did the tests yourself; that ain't possible for him not to be Sam."

"What show have you been watching?" Kate told him, furrowing her brow at him. "Of course, that's possible! It could be a-a new kind of shapeshifter, more powerful and that doesn't react to silver! Or it could be Sam, but under some kind of spell. What if the ghost of Maggie Briggs casted some kind of spell on him when I left him to research by himself in the library?"

"Now, you're talking nonsense."

"But, that's a possibility, isn't it? I mean, how would you even explain that he was so at ease everytime I pretended to flirt with him."

"Wait, you were pretending?"

"Of course, I was pretending. That was my plan. Because the real Sam wouldn't look at me the way this guy has been doing. And, the real Sam would have immediately backed off if I came on to him in any weird, flirty way," she explained. "The real Sam would have never called me a 'hot chick'."

Dean watched her for a moment as memories of these past couple of days flashed before his eyes. But, what kept swirling in the back of his head was the words that Sam had said about how Kate was into him. No way would have Sam said such thing while he knew that there Kate and Dean were… _Well_ , that they were what they were and still had to figure out something that puzzled Dean to the point of having to read some relationship advices book written by a three-times-divorced woman who pretended to know better now that 'she found the right one'.

"Dean," Kate pulled him out of his thoughts. She nodded behind him and he turned to see Sam walking to the exit door with a blond-haired woman who was at least twenty years older than him.

The young man paused at the door as the woman walked out, he turned to them, a grin plastered on his dimpled-face. "We're gonna do it!"

He left and Dean suspiciously stared at the door for a while before turning to Kate who was giving him a pointed look.

"The son of a bitch!"


	18. Chapter 18

**I sincerely apologize for the late update, but I hope you will still enjoy this chapter that was beautifully and quickly beta-read by the amazing** _ **'Irishlass07'**_ **. Thank you for your edit, thank you!**

 **This chapter is based on the episode** _ **'Swap Meat'**_ **(5x12).**

* * *

 _ **A while later**_

Anger exploded inside of Dean the instant he realized that Sam wasn't Sam and that the young man who had been by their sides these past couple of days was an impostor. He had been ready to immediately catch the 'son of a bitch and kick his ass' in the parking lot but Kate had stopped him. She had pointed out that the impostor – whoever he was – had kept the real Sam locked away in some place that he only knew. Besides, the impostor could have left long ago, but instead of that, he had stuck by their sides, which probably meant that he was going to come back to them after his one-nightstand. Kate was certain that it would be safer to wait for the impostor to come back to their motel room and then interrogate him there.

The one thing Dean was sure of – and kept muttering about it on their drive back to the motel – was that the impostor was a witch who had performed a spell to look exactly like his little brother and that only made Dean even madder.

Dean hated witches and he always had. At a time like this, when the Apocalypse was upon all of them, he had come to believe that witches, among all of the other bastards that he'd been hunting down his whole life, would back off, at least for some time. But nope, it seemed that witches didn't care that Heaven and Hell were trying to roast most of the planet; witches and all the other things that go bump in the night weren't part of the new world that Zachariah told him the Apocalypse would bring.

So, of course, when Dean parked in motel's parking lot, he had to search thoroughly inside his car for any hex-bag that wasn't one of their protection ones. He didn't find anything so they went to their room, where Kate watched him do the same kind of thorough search.

Unfortunately – or maybe fortunately – he hadn't found anything out of ordinary. But, Kate noticed that it only frustrated him more as he started to rummage through his little brother's bag nearly furiously, throwing clothes, books and other items every which way around the bed.

"Dean," Kate began from across the room. "Dean, stop it. You won't find any clue."

"There's gotta be something," he muttered as he emptied Sam's bag.

"I've already looked everywhere, there's nothing," she told him, causing him to lift his green gaze up to her. "Whoever that witch is, he's a smart guy."

"Yeah, well, soon he's gonna be a _dead_ smart guy," Dean muttered, throwing the empty duffle bag on the floor.

Kate watched him, deep concern seemed to bloom out of his freckles. She didn't like seeing this kind of expression on him or on anyone for that matter. Biting on her bottom lip, she approached him and reached out her hand to wrap it around his forearm. He moved his eyes down to her hand as she squeezed his forearm. "Look, I know how you're feeling and trust me I'm worried about Sam too, but we'll find him. We just gotta wait for the witch to come back."

"It's not just that," Dean sighed, taking a step back to drop down on the edge of the other queen bed.

"Then, what is it?" She softly asked, her eyes glued to him.

"I-I'm mad at myself… How come I couldn't see that there was something _off_ about him? I mean, he's my brother, I watched him grow up. I've spent most of my life with this kid. I should've been able to see that there was something off about him. I should've seen that it _wasn't_ him… You did. How come _I_ couldn't?"

"Like you pointed out earlier," Kate started, sitting on the edge of the opposite bed as Dean dropped his head to look at the clothes messily covering the ugly carpet. "I haven't been with you for a while, so I guess that would somehow make me more capable of noticing the slightest changes. I mean, you don't exactly notice changes when you get to see the same thing or the same person every day. But when a lapse of time passes since you last saw them, then of course, you notice every slightest change," she paused, her eyes studying him as he seemed unaffected by her words. "Don't beat yourself up, Dean, any other day you would have seen that something was off about him."

"I'm not so sure," he murmured to himself but still the brunette heard him.

"Well, I am," she replied, confidence echoing in her tone. "I mean, you were just a bit preoccupied lately with all that constant research." Dean looked up at her, confusion painted all over his face. "I know you've been trying to hide it, but I saw you reading that book about four times since I got back on the road with you two."

"Oh," he just let out, embarrassment washing all over him as he looked away. He started to rub the back of his neck, feeling his face warm up. "That… that's stupid, I thought that it would help me," Dean continued in a low voice, pulling the book out of his pocket. "It's just that it's the first time I'm in this kind of…" He looked up at her and his green eyes got hold by her brown eyes. He finished in a whisper, "Thing."

"That's my first time, too," Kate replied, the ghost of a sympathetic smile on her lips.

Dean gave her a confused frown, "What about Peter?"

"Peter?"

"Yeah. That dude from your universe."

"What does he have to do with the Apocalypse?" Kate asked, confusion rising in her as realization hit Dean.

They were not talking about the same thing.

 _Not at all._

"You look surprised," Kate hesitantly stated, furrowing her brow. "We're talking about the Apocalypse, right? I mean, that book you've been hiding, it's research about the Apocalypse… Right?"

"Mmh?" Dean's eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "What? Of course, what else would it be about?" He nervously scoffed, quickly putting the book back inside his jacket's interior pocket.

"Dean," Kate began, slowly standing up, which caused Dean to leap off the bed he was sitting on.

"Come on," he exclaimed, walking on some of his brother's stuff as he started to make his way to the kitchen part of the room. "We better find where that lady lives in case that bastard tries to kill her."

"What? But, Dean, we've already talked about that. If the witch wanted to hurt her then he would have left the bar without making a big deal out of it."

"We can't be so sure."

Kate suspiciously squinted her eyes at him, "Dean, what are you hiding?"

"Hiding?" He exclaimed, his voice a pitch higher. "I'm not hiding anything."

Kate stared at him for a moment, a blank look on her face. He stared back at her, not saying a word, but Kate could see that he was nervous. She was very puzzled as she approached him and actually saw him gulp down. She glanced down at his hand that was clutched to his leather jacket and understood that what Dean was hiding had to do with the book he had been hiding. Sure, it didn't take a genius to figure this out, but that still confused Kate. After all, why would Dean hide he was doing research? Or was he hiding something _else_?

Kate put her hand on his and then looked up to meet his eyes. She didn't say a word; just looked right into his green orbs. Dean remained still and quiet, gazing into her sparkling brown eyes with that glimpse of gold. Her sparkling brown eyes that held so much affection, comfort and kindness were too powerful for him.

With a light sigh, he gave up.

He closed his eyes, licked his lips, raked his teeth over his bottom lip and lightly threw his head back as he loosened the grip of his hand on his jacket. Kate looked down at his hand as she felt it becoming slack under hers.

She slowly moved his hand down to his side and then slid her hand inside his jacket. When her fingertips felt the book, she lifted her gaze and looked at Dean. His eyes were still closed as though he didn't want to face whatever was going to happen when Kate would pull the book out of his pocket. He looked nervous. Kate couldn't remember the last time she saw him that nervous. A light frown formed on her face as she glanced down at his jacket before looking up at him again. A little smile appeared on her lips as she pulled her hand away, leaving the book at his place, inside Dean's jacket.

"Come on," Kate gently said, causing Dean to open his eyes and look down at her. "We better put Sam's stuff back in his bag and prepare the room for when the impostor comes back."

Dean watched her as she turned around and went to crouch down on the floor where she started to gather Sam's clothes back inside his duffle bag.

Confused, he asked, "Aren't you curious about the book?"

"I am," she replied, looking up at him. "But, if you don't want to show it, then I shouldn't force you to." She gave him a little smile before returning her attention to Sam's stuff.

Dean observed her for a moment, considering her reply and contemplating what he should do. He took the book out of his pocket, looked down at it and then looked over at the brunette. He knew that she deserved to know what that book was about, but he didn't want to show his stupid fears. He wanted to make whatever was between them work, but he didn't know how to make it work. He was lost and confused. Serious relationships were a strange for him. He never had a relationship that lasted longer than a month. And, he didn't even know what to name the thing going on between him and the impossible girl. But, he knew her. He knew that she was caring, kindhearted, honest, tender and understanding. She would definitely understand that he would be reading this kind of self-help book.

Coughing to clear his throat, Dean advanced towards her and then sat down on the edge of the bed, just in front of her.

"Kaitlin," he started, causing her to hum in reply as she raised her head.

She froze when her brown eyes landed on the book that was in his hand. He was holding it in such way that the cover was visible. There was a photography of a woman and a man standing slightly apart and looking like they were both pondering something. She stared at it for a short moment that seemed to last way too long for Dean, and then she looked up at him.

"That's what I've been reading lately," he confessed in almost a reluctant mumble.

Silence filled the room.

Kate lowered her gaze back to the book.

A snort escaped Kate's nostrils, breaking the silence and confusing Dean.

Then she burst into laughter.

Dean's confused look changed to one of annoyance; a look of annoyance that could nearly be assimilated to a glare.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, her whole body shaking with laughter.

"So much for thinking that you wouldn't judge me," Dean muttered.

"I'm not judging you!"

"You're laughing at me," he pointed out, an almost outraged look on his face.

"I can't help it. I'm sorry," she told him, her laughter coming to an abrupt end. "I just never imagined _you_ reading those kind of books," she snorted again and Dean rolled his eyes, dropping the book on the bed as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen part of the room. "Don't go away, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, quickly standing up. "I really am. I didn't mean to laugh at you," she gently said, no longer laughing. She stared at his back as he stopped with a sigh, about four feet away from her.

She turned to look at the book and read the title that she had ignored when looking at the cover earlier.

 _How to make it work? First time in a serious relationship._

It took her slightly aback. Dean was the latest person she thought would ever need some help when it came to relationships. She knew that the same couldn't be said about her.

"Why do you bother reading this? You don't need that kind of book," she half-whispered, causing Dean to spin around and look at the brunette whose back was facing him. "If one of us needs that kind of book, it's me. I'm bad at relationships."

"Did you see me?" He half-scoffed, causing Kate to turn to him. "At least, you're already had one healthy, serious relationship. Me? _Nada_."

"I already had one _healthy_ , _serious_ _relationship_?" She repeated in a questioning tone, her eyebrows up on her forehead. "If you're talking about Peter, then you don't know what you're talking about… _That_ relationship wasn't healthy at all and it was barely serious. But, that's a story for another time because right now, what matters to me is to understand what's going on with you. I mean, since when do you read these kind of books? Why do you _even_ read it?"

"I'm scared," he blurted out, slightly surprising the brunette who remained quiet for him to say more. "I'm scared that it's not gonna work between us."

Kate bit her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest and commented in a gentle sarcasm, "I almost forgot how much of an optimist you've always been." She looked down as she shifted on her feet. "But, to be honest with you, I'm scared, too. I'm scared that we'll only make things more complicated. I mean, there's already the Apocalypse mess –"

"That's not what I'm scared of," he interrupted her and she moved her gaze back up to him. "Because I know that we won't make things more complicated. Apocalypse or not. It's impossible. Somehow, you make everything easier, Kaitlin."

Kate felt her heart swell with emotion. She knew that it was hard for Dean to speak so openly about his feelings and even if it was just a few words, she knew that they were entirely honest.

"So, what are you scared of?" She softly inquired, slightly tilting her head to the side.

"I'm scared _I'm_ gonna screw up everything. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or to say to make it work and I _want_ to make it work. I really want to but, I don't know what to do. I'm a fuckin' virgin when it comes to serious relationships!"

"So am I," Kate told him with a gentle smile. She looked down at her feet and continued in almost a whisper, "That's actually why I told you that we would figure it out."

"About that. _That_ messed me up," Dean told her, causing her to look up at him with a confused frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I… I don't know," she shrugged. "That's the only thing I could think of saying to pretend that I knew what I was doing," she nervously chuckled. Dean watched her, his eyes traveling down to her fingers that were nervously playing with her sleeves back up to her beautiful face, not missing the way her eyes were looking everywhere but at him. "That means," she said in a soft voice in which Dean could hear some fear. "I want us to take it slow because that's… That's new for me, too. And I want this to work just as much as you do. But, also, I think that I'm more scared of screwing up everything than you are. I mean, look at me I'm not exactly like the women you've met before."

"That's exactly it," Dean declared, his rough voice sounding tender and stern at the same time. He walked up to her, gently put his hand under her chin and made her look up at him. "You're not like them, Kaitlin. You've never been like them. Hell, you're the only woman who made me purchase a freakin' book about relationships!" Kate let out a short breathy chuckle as she looked away. "You don't have to doubt yourself. 'Cause, Kaitlin, you're much more than these women; much more." She shifted her gaze back to him as he pulled his hand away from her chin.

A heartfelt smile formed on her lips, "Just so you know, you don't need this kind of book."

"You think?"

"Yeah and I think it's gonna work," she murmured.

"We'll take it slow," he murmured back.

"But, first we gotta get Sam back," she told him, her eyes flickering to his lips, which of course didn't go unnoticed by Dean.

"You wanna kiss me, don't you?" He couldn't help but tease her.

"Like I said: _first_ we gotta get Sam back," she replied, her cheeks a bit red before she stepped back and crouched down to finish putting Sam's stuff back inside the duffle bag.

"Right," Dean nodded. "I'm gonna grab a couple of things from the trunk. I'll be right back."

"Sure," she simply replied, without looking at him.

Dean walked a few steps and then stopped. He turned and gazed over at Kate.

The curly strands that fell out of her messy ponytail were graciously dancing around her face. Her cheeks were a bit red, but not as red as the natural color of her lips. There were a couple of faded scars on her flawless face; scars that she didn't have when she first landed in their universe. But, that didn't lessen her beauty, and damn it how beautiful she was. Dean had never ever been this mesmerized by a woman before. From the moment she came into his world, she made him do things that he never did before, she made him experience things that he never did before and above all she made him feel things that he never ever felt before.

She had done so much for him and his family, she had been through so much for all of them.

And, she had brought so much light to his dark and painful life.

"You know," he began in a serious voice, making her look up at him. "Even though it was hell when you were gone those two months, there's still a part of me that keeps wishing I could send you back to your safe universe, where no monsters can hurt you." He paused and Kate watched him carefully, not saying a word at all. "But, there's also a part of me that wants – that _needs_ – to keep you with me, _All the time_. And, I know that sounds selfish. But, I can't help it, and Kaitlin, I've never felt this way about any woman before. I just wanted you to know that, because, well, because that's also one of the reasons why you shouldn't doubt yourself."

Kate didn't say anything. In fact, she didn't even know what to say, but as Dean turned and walked out of the room, she understood that he wasn't expecting any answer. He never expected anything in return. That was the way Dean rolled. He saved people and never expected them to thank him in return. He gave so much to people and never expected anything to be given to him in return. He never did.

He just wanted her to know that and to not doubt herself.

She turned her head to the bed and looked over at the self-help book.

He wanted her to not doubt herself while he was actually the one doubting himself.

He wanted to comfort her, to reassure her while he was the one who needed all of this.

But, Dean didn't ask for anything.

He never did.

* * *

 _ **A while later.**_

When Dean returned to the motel room after his conversation about the self-help book, Kate had finished putting Sam's stuff back inside his duffle bag. With no word, they had both agreed not to talk about the self-help book anymore; or at least until they got Sam back. Dean had settled the pillows of his bed as though somebody was asleep under the blankets and he had asked Kate to do the same with the couch. He had brought some ropes and his bag of weapons from the Impala and had explained his plan to Kate. The plan was easy. They would hide in the room and when the impostor arrived back, they would catch him and tie him to a chair.

The plan worked out perfectly when the impostor came almost an hour later. Dean had caught him when he saw him pick up a gun and aim it at the bed, in which Dean was supposed to be sleeping in. The hunter had then asked him who he was but all the impostor did was try to fight back and run away.

"Please, please, stop, y-you're hurting me," the impostor said while Dean tied him very tightly to a chair after he asked him who he was.

"He asked you a question, answer," Kate ordered, her arms crossed over her chest as she gave a hard look to the impostor. It was hard to look at him with such hardness while he had the face of one of the sweetest persons she ever met.

"Look, I don't know what's going on with you, guys, but it's me! It's Sam!"

Dean pulled roughly at the final knot of the rope and then he circled the chair to come right in front of him. "You don't say my brother's name unless it is to tell me where he is. You got it?"

"Come on…" The impostor pleaded as Dean stepped back. "Kaitlin…"

Dean glanced at Kate, only to see her clench her jaw. _Of course_ , Sam never called her by her full first name, Dean thought.

"Alright, tough guy. You wanna keep playing?" Dean sighed, taking Ruby's knife from the floor, on which it was lying next to the rest of the ropes. "So, let's play."

Dean approached him and immediately Sam – or rather the impostor – was filled with fear and panic, "Woah, woah, woah! What the hell are you gonna do with this blade?!"

"Oh, well, I'm gonna slice and cut some bits of you until you give me answers. I think that's called 'torture' in some countries," Dean sarcastically replied as Kate drifted her gaze away from the impostor to look at the hunter.

Dean started to approach the blade towards the face of the impostor, when the latter panicked even louder, "You can't do this! It's Sam's body!"

"What?" Both Dean and Kate asked in sync as Dean froze his hand.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But, it's Sam's body… I'm not Sam… But, it's his body. Please, don't hurt me!"

"Come again?" Dean told him while Kate remained quiet, listening carefully to what was being said.

"I-I did a body swap spell, and, er, basically, y-your brother's in my body and I'm in his."

"You pulled a 'Freaky Friday' card on my brother?" Dean glared at him.

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry, please, don't hurt me! Please!"

"And the cellphones. Where did you put them?"

"Um, I-I threw them away," the impostor hesitantly replied. "I threw them in the previous motel's dumpsters. But, I'm 200% sure they're still there! They never take the garbage away before the end of the week."

Kate glanced at Dean as he inhaled deeply and then went to the motel room phone. Understanding what he was going to do, she approached him as he pressed a few buttons. He held the phone up by his shoulder as he saw her get closer to him so that she could hear what was on the other end of the line.

"You have 38 messages," a digital voice said. It was followed by a beeping sound and then a stranger's voice that sounded a lot like a teenager's voice. "Uh, this is gonna sound crazy – really crazy – but I think, uh, I think I'm in the wrong body." Kate watched the impostor, a thoughtful frown on her face as another beep echoed. "Dean, the guy right next to you is not me!" A beep. "Dean, check your friggin' voicemail. Damn it."

Kate stepped away from Dean as he continued to listen to a couple of messages. She advanced towards the impostor and squinted her eyes at him.

"How old are you?"

"I-I'm…" He stuttered before Dean interrupted him.

"Alright, pal!" Dean approached him, holding his knife up. "No more games. Either you start talking or I start water-boarding."

"Oh, my God! Please, don't hurt me. Please, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Hey, pull it together, champ," Dean told him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die," the impostor cried.

"Dean," Kate said, grabbing the hunter's arm to make him step back while the impostor kept whimpering words like a motto. "I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. Please, I don't wanna die."

"What?" Dean asked the brunette as she made him turn around so that their backs faced the impostor.

She licked her lips and then whispered, "I think that's a kid in there."

"What?" He mouthed.

"I don't wanna die. Please, I don't wanna die. Please, please," the impostor kept on saying as Kate and Dean glanced at him.

When they turned their attention back to each other, Dean shook his head at Kate.

"Impossible," he told her before turning fully to the impostor. "Alright, you tell us where Sam is and maybe we won't burn you at the stake, Copperfield."

"He's in my – my friend's basement. His parents are out of town!"

"Parents?" Dean frowned, throwing a glance at Kate. "Wait… How old are you?"

"S-seventeen."

"Seventeen…" Dean let out, entirely surprised that the witch who had done such a powerful spell and had spent a couple of days by his and Kate's sides turned out to be just a teenager. "Alright. So more Harry Potter than Copperfield, huh."

"Neither. Copperfield does magic trick and Harry Potter was born a –" The impostor began before Dean's glare stopped him.

"Just tell us where is your friend's house?" Kate demanded, causing him to look over at her.

"Um, 8805 Davenhill. The house is the only one of the street without Christmas decoration yet," he stammered.

"Are you lying?" Dean demanded, giving a mistrust look to the impostor.

"I-I'm not!"

"You said that the phones were still in the Lucky Star motel's dumpster, so I guess, if I find them there, it means we can believe you as to where Sam is?" Kate declared in a questioning tone.

"Y-yeah!"

"Alright, then," Kate nodded before turning to Dean. "Give me the keys, I'm going."

"What? No, that could be dangerous," Dean told her.

"I'm just gonna check if the phones are where he said they would be. If they are, then I'll call you. And then I'll go to his friend's house. One of us has to stay here while the other gets Sam back. And, I think you'd rather not leave me alone with a witch, right?" He stared at her, still looking quite unsure and then he gazed over at the impostor in his brother's body. "Dean, time is running out."

Dean drifted his gaze back to the brunette standing in front of him. Her brown eyes were filled with a determination and a strength that could only make him say 'yes'. He slid his hand in his pocket and took out the Impala's keys. She glanced down and grabbed them but he didn't let go of them.

A bit confused, she looked up at him.

"You be safe, okay?" He told her in a stern tone.

Never breaking the eye contact, she gave him a firm nod.

Dean reluctantly loosened his grip around the keys.

She took the keys and rushed out of the room, grabbing her parka coat on the way out and leaving Dean with one more thing to worry about.

* * *

Dean felt like the minutes lasted hours since Kate left about twenty minutes ago. He had never been a very patient guy, but when he was worried it was even worse. Sure, he was constantly worried about a lot of things, but those things had become sort of bearable with time. Not all of them but most of them and strangely enough, even the worst thoughts and memories had become bearable. He knew that it wasn't just because of time passing by, he knew that Kate's presence by his sides also had something to do with all that. She had a way to make everything easier and clearer without even trying and she had a way to brighten his darkest days with no effort. Only one person used to make that possible for Dean.

His little brother.

Dean couldn't pinpoint when exactly his little brother changed so much, but he knew that this transformation didn't suddenly happen when he was in Hell. He knew that it had started a bit before. It had been gradual, slow, subtle and undoubtedly before he died and went to Hell. More than likely, it began when Ruby came in the picture. He would give anything to just go back in time and kill that demoniac bitch before she met his little brother.

He would give anything.

Because Dean was certain that it was at this right moment that his little brother had started to change. That was at this right moment that Sammy had begun to turn into a stranger.

Dean was pulled out of his thoughts by the motel room phone ringing.

He picked it up, "Yeah?"

"It's me," Kate's voice echoed from the other end of the line. "I feel like I need to wash my hands with some bleach, but at least I got the phones back."

"So, the kid didn't lie?"

"The kid didn't lie," she confirmed.

"Good."

"Yeah, so, now I'm going to his friend's place. I'll call you once Sam's with me, okay?"

"Maybe I should knock Gary out and come along?" Dean suggested as he was concerned about letting her go on her own.

"Who's Gary?"

"That's the kid's name."

"Oh. Well, no, don't knock him out. Just watch him. I'll be fine, don't worry."

"You call me," he ordered her. "If anything happens, you call me."

"I will," she promised and then hung up.

Dean licked his lips, inhaling through his nostrils before putting the phone back at its place.

"So," he said, turning to the impostor before he was suddenly thrown in the air by an invisible force. He flew backwards and crashed hard into the wall, which knocked him out.

Gary, the impostor, quickly turned his head towards the brown-haired girl who was standing in the middle of the room. He immediately recognized her: it was his classmate and friend. But, she couldn't have thrown Dean flying backwards.

"Nora?" He said, confused as the teenage girl approached him.

Her eyes turned pitch black, scaring him like never before.

"Not at the moment," she wickedly smiled at him.

* * *

Fortunately, the Lucky Star motel where Kate found the cellphones back wasn't that far away from the place where the impostor's friend lived. It was a ten-minute drive to find the right street and two more minutes were needed to find the big house that wasn't lit up with any Christmas lights while all the others in the street were fairly over-decorated. There were still over ten days before Christmas and yet this street looked like it was more than ready for D-day.

The brunette quickly stepped out of the Impala and went to the trunk. She opened it and bit on her lip as she stared at all the weapons.

What was she supposed to take with her?

A gun with silver bullets for werewolves, a riffle with salt bullets for ghosts, a sharp machete for vampires, but for witches? She had no idea.

She would have to do more research about witches. There had to be some way to stop them or to slow them down.

Her brown eyes landed on an ordinary gun. She looked at it and decided that it would be enough to scare the impostor's friend who was surely watching Sam in case the latter tried to escape.

She closed the trunk and made her way up to the house, instinctively looking around her until she reached the front door.

She positioned the gun in her hand the way Sam had shown her a while ago and hoped that she wouldn't need to use it. She didn't want to shoot at a teenager, witch or not witch. Besides, it would be quite dangerous for her, too. The thing was that no matter how much time Sam spent trying to teach her how to shoot with a gun, she was still bad at it. Always closing her eyes and slightly jumping whenever she fired with one. She definitely would have to take more shooting lessons.

But, first, she _had_ _to_ find Sam.

She pushed the unlocked front door open and walked into the house, keeping her gun firmly up. She could feel the adrenaline pumping into her veins as she sneaked into the dark house like an undercover cop. Within a minute she found the door leading to the basement. She leaned closer to the door, trying to hear if there was any noise.

There wasn't any.

She breathed deeply and opened the door as silently as possible. She aimed her gun up again as she slowly and quietly walked downstairs. Half-way in the staircase, she heard grunting and heavy breathing sounds. She frowned and tightened her grip around the gun as she continued walking. Once she arrived at the end of the staircase, she heard a teenager's voice.

"Whew! Damn it! Come on!"

She frowned as she followed the direction of the grunting voice.

She stopped when she saw a dark-haired teenager in a black and blue sweat who was straining against ropes that bound him to a chair. She was going to run to him and free him when she saw the dead body of another teenager on the floor.

What if the impostor's friend had put up all that play of himself tied up to a chair so that Kate could save him?

What if the body Sam was trapped in was the dead body lying on the floor?

She clenched her jaw at the idea of Sam dead, and held the gun more firmly towards the dark-haired teenager whose face was quite familiar to her.

At this right moment, the dark-haired teenager looked up and saw her.

"You found me! It's me! Thank God! Untie me! We gotta get out of here fast!" He told her as she walked towards him, still aiming her gun at him. He frowned, "What are you doing? It's me! I swear it's me! It's Sam! Ask me anything, I'll answer! It's me! Katie, I swear it's me!"

Kate lowered her gun. Relief washed over her as her brown eyes softened and a little smile grazed her lips.

With a nod and a sigh, she whispered, "It's you."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Cloverleaf motel, Dean was lying unconscious on the floor while Gary – the teenage witch in Sam's body – was getting untied by the demon possessing his brown-haired friend, Nora.

"Boy, you earned your dessert tonight, kiddo," the demon said in a seductive voice against Gary's ear as she finished freeing him from the ropes. "Tell me – what is it you want? Anything."

"Anything?" He smiled, standing up as she walked around him to face him.

"Lay it on me."

"I wanna be a witch," Gary replied with no hesitation. "For real and really powerful."

"Hmm. Good choice. I get it. No daddy, no M.I.T. No plan. You get to be big and strong and no one can tell you what to do anymore," the demon said as she turned and walked towards Dean. She looked down at the unconscious hunter, a wicked smirk on her face. "There's just one small formality first," she spun around, a smile on her face. "You've got to meet the boss."

"The boss?" Gary questioned, not sure he got what she meant.

"You know," she advanced towards him. "Your Satanic majesty, or whatever the kids are calling it these days."

"The Devil?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Uh... no. O-okay," Gary replied, realizing that it was slowly getting way too scary. "Um, it's okay. I... don't really want to bother him."

"Oh, but he's gonna want to meet you," the demon tried to reassure him as well as she could. "Relax. It'll be easy," she told him as he glanced behind her and saw Dean starting to move from where he was lying unconscious. "He's just gonna ask you one little question, and all you gotta do is say 'yes'. And then, you get your reward."

At this right moment, Dean swung at the demon with a knife, but she quickly turned around, caught his arm and shoved him away to the ground. Then, she started to kick him in the stomach. Gary flinched and looked away. He couldn't look at Dean getting kicked with so much violence, but he could still hear Dean's grunting noises and he could hear every kick that the demon made. He returned his gaze back to Dean, only to meet his gaze for a brief second. A brief second that was long enough to build courage up inside Gary.

He clenched his fists and started to chant the words that he knew would get the demon away, "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus."

The demon whipped around, looking at him with fury, "What was that?"

"Uh, n-nothing," he stammered.

"Were you trying exorcize me?! You little piece of crap!" She shouted before grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

Spurting blood from his mouth, Dean did his best to quickly stand up as he saw his brother – or rather the teenager in his brother's body – choking.

Immediately, he started to say the next part of the exorcism, "Spiritus, omnis satanica potestas."

The demon released Gary and turned back to Dean, ready to kick him again when Gary continued the exorcism.

"Omnis incursio infernalis adversii."

She turned to him, but found herself struggling with the torturous pain that was increasing inside of her.

"Omnis congregatio," Dean said, putting his hand over his injured stomach.

"Et secta diabolica," Gary continued.

"Ergo, draco maledicte," Dean followed and the demon was rooted in the middle, turning her head back and forth between the two humans, not able to stop any of them.

"Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire."

"Te rogamus. Adios, bitch!" Dean glared at her.

"Uh, it's 'adinos'," Gary corrected, causing Dean to give him a look.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" The demon screamed, leaving the girl's body in black smoke that went through a vent in the wall.

The girl fell to the ground, unconscious.

Gary looked at her and then gave a satisfied nod at Dean who glared at him in return.

* * *

 _ **Some moment later.**_

After Dean and Gary had gotten rid of the demon and they lay the unconscious teenage girl on one of the queen beds, the motel room phone rang. It was Kate who reassured Dean that she had found Sam. Dean was relieved to know that they were both alright, however he couldn't help but notice that the brunette's voice sounded a bit sad. When he asked her the reason, she told him about the dead teenager in the basement.

Dean hadn't said anything; preferring to not shake Gary up before the latter reversed the spell. He got Gary to tell him what Kate had to bring from the basement for him to perform the reverse spell and then they waited for the return of Sam and Kate.

It wasn't long before Nora came to. The poor teenage girl was quite shaken up and she ended up telling Gary that their other friend – Trevor – was dead. Though, she seemed unsure of her claims, saying that it all felt like a bad dream. With very few words, Dean told them with sternness that it wasn't a bad dream. He told them that it was the consequences of playing witchcraft.

Then, Sam and Kate arrived in the room. Dean was surprised to recognize the teenager as the one who had served them back in that fast food joint a couple of days ago. It seemed that they couldn't trust anyone these days; not even some teenage employee in a fast food joint.

Kate and Sam – in that slim and fragile teenage body – ordered Gary to do the reverse spell right away. The teenager immediately complied and five minutes later he and Sam were sitting opposite on the floor, a bowl filled with different ingredients settled between them as he chanted a few Latin words.

Kate and Dean stood a couple of feet away from them, watching carefully in case Gary tried to trick them by doing another spell. When the brunette heard the teenage girl sniffle, she looked over at her. She went to her, grabbing a thin blanket that was lying at the end of one bed and then gently wrapped the quietly-crying teenager in it.

"Thank you," the teenager mouthed and Kate gave her arm a little comforting and supporting squeeze.

"Potestate et auctoritate, sic fiat!" Gary finished in an exclamation, pulling Kate's attention back to him and Sam.

She saw him drop some powder into the bowl and then light flared from it. When the light disappeared, Kate furrowed her brow as she observed the taller Winchester, wondering if it was Sam in there or if it was still the teenager.

When he stood up and went to look at himself in the mirror, Dean had to ask, "So, we good?"

"Yeah. We're good," Sam declared and Kate smiled widely before quickly running to him.

She threw her arms around his body and squeezed him in a tight hug.

"It's so good to have you back," she told him, her left cheek pressed against his strong chest.

"It's good to be back," he replied, lifting his arms to return the hug as well as he could, considering how she trapped him with her arms.

"Yeah. Awesome," Gary stated in sarcastic tone as he got up.

"So," Dean began, standing in front of the teenager. He cleared his throat, "Gary."

"I know – my bad," the teenager simply said.

Kate turned to look at him once she finished hugging Sam.

" _'My bad'_?" She asked, one hand still holding onto Sam's arm as though not ready to let go of him now that they got him back.

"Well," Gary replied, turning to her with an apologetic grimace that didn't even look sincere.

"Kid, _'my bad'_ ain't gonna cut it," Dean told him. "See, if you were of voting age... you'd be dead because we would kill you. So either you straighten up and fly right or we will kill you. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Gary replied, gulping down.

"Good," Dean declared.

* * *

 _ **A short while later.**_

"Hey, you still in here?" Kate asked, leaning her head in the wide gap of the bathroom's door. "Ouch," she winced at the view of Dean's stomach covered with bruises that were only starting to truly form.

He was standing in front of the mirror, one hand holding up his t-shirt and flannel up to expose his toned stomach while his other hand was applying some soothing ointment where the demon kicked him hard earlier.

"I'm almost done," he replied in a low voice, his eyes focused on the mirror.

"She didn't go easy on you," Kate remarked, stepping in.

"Yeah, usually, demons like to make it hurt when they hit," he said with a bit of sarcasm as he turned to the brunette who was standing right next to him.

Her brown eyes were glued to his stomach and then he saw her hesitantly reach out one hand. He stayed still and quiet as she carefully and gently rested her fingertips on his stomach. His green eyes never looked away from her face as he felt her softly trace the bruises on his skin. Then, her fingers stilled on a lower part of his stomach; right above his left hip in fact. A pensive expression appeared on her face, confusing him. He looked down and saw that her focus was on a rather old hunting scar. It wasn't a very old one seeing as when he returned from Hell, he got himself a whole new skin with not one single scar.

She lifted her gaze and instantly met his. "Um," she pulled her hand away from his skin, slightly blushing with embarrassment. "I think you applied enough ointment." She stepped back and cleared her throat. "Um, Sam asked me to tell you to hurry up a bit. I think he's running out of arguments to make good speeches about why magic is very bad."

"Huh," Dean scoffed, a corner smile on his lips. "Alright, let's go," he lowered his clothes over his stomach and then motioned with his hand for her to walk out of the bathroom first.

She walked out and stopped by the bed where his duffle bag was lying half-open. He approached her, dropped the ointment in the bag and then they both looked at the self-help book that was on top of a few of his unfolded clothes.

"You're not gonna mention that book to Sam, right?" Dean asked, causing a very light chuckle to escape the brunette's lips.

"You know," she began in a murmur. "I could have stayed back in my universe. I didn't have to send myself here. I could have changed my fate and just stay there but, I didn't. Not because I enjoy trying to survive from all kind of monsters, nor because I love being helpful and feeling useful enough. But, because of _you_. I…" She looked up to him, and saw that his green eyes were fixated at the book without really looking at it. There was a slight frown on his face that told her he was listening to every of her word. "I chose to send myself to you. I chose _you_ , Dean. So, please, don't doubt yourself about screwing up whatever is going on between us or about not being worthy enough. Because, you are, Dean. Actually, you're much more."

Dean shifted his gaze to her. Her brown eyes were a bit teary, but they were filled with an honest belief in what she had just declared, and as hard as it was that made him want to believe her.

"You don't need a book to make things work between you and me," she continued, taking the book from his bag before returning her eyes back up to him. "And, you don't need a book to help you reconnect with your brother. All you need is time. Time and a little bit of effort to put yourself in his shoes and understand what's going on in his head."

"What's happening with Sam, it's a bit more complicated… And, I don't think I'll be able to fix it," he admitted in a little voice, looking away.

Kate raised her hand and cupped his cheek, causing him to look at her. She gave him a smile as tender as her touch, "Of course, you will. I'll be there to help you."

Again, he wanted to believe her. The intensity in her eyes was gripping and yet soothing at the same time, and it made him want to believe her.

Her phone rang in her coat's pocket, breaking the intimacy of their quiet moment.

"That must be your brother losing impatience with the kids… We should go."

"Yeah," he breathed out as he watched her hand slowly pulling away from his cheek. He watched her zip closed his duffle bag and then with a swift movement she swung it her shoulder, dropped the self-help book on the bed and made her way to the front door. "It's not a few bruises that are gonna make it hard for me to carry my bag, you know?"

She turned to him and smirked, "I know."

Then she walked out of the room as Dean smiled with slight amusement.

He dropped his gaze to the book and then grabbed it. He looked at it, dragging his thumbs over the pages to turn them quickly until he got to the finale page.

' _One last thing; if you are reading this book, it means that you are already in a relationship with the one who makes you skip a beat. So, don't feel the necessity to label it as serious or something else. All you need to know is that they chose you. And, that should be enough for you to make it work, right?'_

Dean scoffed, shaking his head as he snapped the book shut and walked towards the door, "We would have both gained time and energy if you had written this as a cookie fortune instead of a 200-page long book full of cheesy craps, Doc," Dean sighed, throwing the book in a garbage can on his way out.

He couldn't help the smile that played on his lips as Kate's words echoed in his head.

" _I chose you, Dean."_

Maybe he could believe it after all.

Maybe he could believe that someone had chosen him this time instead of choosing another life, another person, or even a demon for that matter.

Maybe he could believe that, for once, he had been chosen.

* * *

It was softly raining when the trio drove the two teenagers to Gary's house.

Kate was feeling bad for leaving Trevor's dead body in the house for his parents to find him so Sam gave an anonymous call to the police, telling them that he saw a wild animal entering Trevor's house. It would be the best for Trevor's parents if the police didn't try to investigate too deep into the death of their son and if everyone just believed that the big hole in the middle of his chest was made by some wild animal.

Nora and Gary had remained quiet during the entire car trip, certainly thinking about everything that had happened and how they were going to live their lives now. Dean was silent, too, throwing a few glances in the rearview mirror to look at the quiet Kate staring out the window. But, mostly, he glanced at his little brother sitting in the passenger seat by his side. Sam didn't say much either, but he did make a few weird comments about his back hurting him a bit as though he had been an uncomfortable position for some time.

Sam was actually going to ask Gary what physical activities he had done when he was in his body, when Dean announced that they had arrived to the teenager's house before pulling up right outside.

They all got out and Dean huffed as he saw the almost too-perfect Christmas decorations already settled.

"Nice," he commented before looking over at Kate. "You think Bobby would let us make his place look like this?"

"I'm pretty sure his answer would involve a few curses at us, but we still got about ten days to try," she replied in the same joking tone before she walked the teenage girl to under the porch.

"Come on," Sam told Gary who was standing still, his eyes glued to his house.

"Crap," the teenager sighed as Kate went back to the car.

"Gary, take it from someone who knows," Sam started as the others watched the interaction. "Chin up, man. Your life ain't that bad."

"Uh, you met my parents?"

"Yeah. So what? It's your life. You don't like their plan for you, tell them to cram it," Sam advised him, causing Kate and Dean's eyebrows to shoot up on their forehead. "Rebel a little bit. In a healthy, non-Satanic way, of course."

"Y-yeah, I know, you've already said it," Gary mumbled.

"Yeah, well, keep that in mind. Witchcraft is never good even if it's for the best of intentions," Sam told him, throwing a glance at Kate before looking at Gary again, only to find him gazing over at Nora. Sam waved at the young girl, causing both Dean and Kate to turn to her before they exchanged a look. "By the way, you know why Nora's into witchcraft?"

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't like Satan, you moron. She likes you."

"Really? You think?" Gary asked, happily surprised by the news.

"Yeah, I know. I'm telling you, kid – I wish I had your life," Sam told him, surprising Dean and Kate with what he said.

"You do?" Gary inquired and Sam nodded at him. "Thanks."

"Get out of here," Sam smiled at Gary who smiled back before quickly walking away, heading for the house with his friend.

"That was a really nice thing to say," Kate said to Sam, a little smile on her lips.

"I totally lied," Sam replied, washing off Kate's smile. "That kid's life sucked ass."

With that Sam climbed into the Impala and Dean looked down at Kate who looked a bit too taken aback by what Sam had just said. She shook her head and then got into the car as well, closely followed by Dean.

"All that apple-pie, family crap?" Sam said once they were all in the car. "It's stressful."

"Tell me about it," Kate commented under her breath as she shrugged off her wet parka coat.

"C'mon, it couldn't be that bad," Dean declared, his green eyes scanning his brother's dimpled face.

"Trust me – we didn't miss a damn thing," Sam replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

At that Dean threw a pensive glance at Kate through the rearview mirror. The brunette looked entirely focused on gathering her slightly wet curly hair over one shoulder.

"Or we don't know what we're missing," Dean declared in a thoughtful murmur, surprising Sam who stared at him for a moment.

Kate looked up, unsure if she had heard right. But, when Dean started te engine and Bob Seger's 'Rock 'n' Roll never forgets' began to play she decided that she had misheard.

"Oh, come on, man. Turn it down," Sam sighed, rubbing his shoulders as his back was still hurting him a bit although he had no idea why.

Dean looked at him and even Kate turned her head towards the younger Winchester.

"Welcome back, Kotter," Dean half-muttered as he lowered the volume.

Dean turned and pulled his arm along the back of the frontseat like he always did to drive backwards. He glanced at Kate and couldn't help but smile at the way her eyes were gently and affectionately staring at the back of his brother's neck.

She was happy to have her friend back, and that only made Dean even more impatient to get back what he used to have with his brother.

All he needed was time.

And, he would make sure to have all the necessary time for that.

He knew that Kate would make sure he did it right.

As hard and impossible as it had been, Dean knew that he could believe in Kate to help him fix what was broken between his little brother and himself.

Besides, he already knew that he would do anything to fix it all.

 _Yeah_. He would do anything for Sammy.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I'm sincerely sorry for the late update. I had a lot of things to do and on top of that I am currently studying for my exams of May, so yeah, it's been quite hard for me to type down this chapter. But, here it is and I hope you guys still enjoyed it!**

 **Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul to all the people who keep supporting me and my little story. Thank you for reading it and thank you for all your sweet words of encouragement! You are the best!**

 **I'm gonna be honest and tell you that the next update might not happen before the end of May… I know it's in a long time, but at least you are warned! But, once May is over, the finals are over and I'm done with my part-time job, I promise you'll get frequent updates! I will have enough free time to type down all the upcoming chapters that I've already written down on sheets of paper. The next two chapters will be based on the episode 'The song remains the same', and it will be filled with Kate/Dean moments, so watch out! It will then be followed by an original hunt featuring our favorite boys, Kate, Matt and for the first time Maya! It will be a pretty intense chapter, during which lives will be at risk and a familiar baddie will show up. I'm not telling you more, but just so you know, this one-month hiatus will be worth it, so pretty please don't give up on me!**

 **Take great care of yourself and of your precious ones,**

 **A.**


	19. Chapter 19

**With my most sincere apologies for this very late update, I hope you will all still enjoy this chapter that was betaread by the amazing I-got-zapped. See you at the end of the page for the author's note!**

 **This chapter is settled in the episode** _ **'The Song Remains the Same'**_ **(5x13).**

* * *

Dean was seated on a couch in front of a small stage lit from below, biting on his bottom lip as he watched the hot brunette dressed in a 'sexy devil' outfit giving him a very erotic dance to Warrant's 'Cherry Pie'. Her back was facing him, but he wasn't complaining at all, because he still had a good view on her lower back and her long, slim legs.

"Oh, I take it all back. I _love_ the devil," he smirked, leaning forward. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and when he opened them he was happily surprised to see a second dancer dancing with the brunette. She was giving him her back too, but Dean didn't mind because this blonde-haired dancer dressed in a 'sexy angel' outfit had the same attractive curves as the brunette. "Now, that's what I call peace on earth."

The two dancers danced some more before swinging their hips away from Dean, towards the back of the stage, causing him to frown. "Hey, no, no. Come back, ladies!"

"Do you really want them to come back?" A familiar voice said in a seductive tone. He turned his head to his right and his eyes immediately widened at the sight that was before him.

It was even better than the two exotic dancers.

There stood Kaitlin in a sleek, transparent brown gown that left her tummy uncovered and showed off her beautifully bra-laced breasts. Her very high heels made her legs look longer, which inevitably made the 5'7" woman look even taller and slimmer, without ever diminishing the curves of her hips that Dean loved so much.

Dean was speechless at how sexy his favorite brunette looked.

She lifted a hand up to her short curls that reached her shoulders, her fingers immediately finding a strand of hair to play with as she asked, "Or would you rather play with me?"

Dean gulped down as lust-darkened green eyes looked up to meet her brown eyes. " _You_. Definitely you, Cherry."

With no further word and with Warrant's song blasting louder in the room, the brunette stepped in front of the man who never looked away from her. He was hypnotized by her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. She straddled him and his gaze shot up to her creamy white face. She looked at him with intensity as his rough hands slid up on her soft bare thighs. His eyes flickered down to her red lips as she bit down on the lower one. He licked his own lips as she freed her bottom lip and leaned forward. He closed his green eyes and leaned towards her, too, when the music abruptly ended.

"So, this is what you dream about?" A voice asked, causing him to frown before opening his eyes as he turned to look at his left, from where the voice came.

"Anna?" He breathed out before he felt the weight on his lap and the soft skin under his calloused hands suddenly disappear. He instantly turned his head, only to find that the beautiful brunette had surely vanished into thin air. "Damn it," he muttered before he heard Anna lightly snort. He looked at her, shifting uncomfortably. "Um, I was just, uh, working on a case."

"Does she know that you dream about her?" The red-head asked with what looked like an amused smile playing on her lips.

"Well, it's the first time that I do," he lied, looking away.

"It's not," Anna deduced from the expression on his face.

"This is awkward," he declared, looking down at his hands.

"You can tell her. If I remember right, she is a pretty open-minded person," she told him.

"Yeah, well, we're taking it slow so…" He trailed off.

"You're _taking it slow_? Does that mean that you and Kate are together?"

He looked up at her, nearly afraid that she would take this news bad considering their past – if they could call it like that – but the red-head simply looked curious and genuinely surprised.

"Um, yeah," he replied, sounding almost hesitant.

It had been exactly a couple of weeks since he threw away that relationship book, after Kate reassured him that they would take it one step at a time. He wasn't against that idea. It reassured him to know that she didn't want him to immediately act like the perfect, romantic boyfriend. It wasn't his thing. It has never been his thing. He knew he was lucky that she didn't pressure him onto doing anything, and of course, he respected her as well. He didn't pressure her onto doing anything. Taking it slow with her didn't feel like a commitment that would scare the shit out of him. In fact, it simply felt nice.

"I'm pretty sure that's not why you're gate-crashing my head," Dean continued after a short pause. "Besides, why don't you just swing by the motel?"

"I can't find you."

"Oh, Cas did this thing," Dean simply said, indicating his ribs.

"Cas. _Right_ ," Anna looked away. "Now, there's a friend you can count on."

"What?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Where I've been," she replied, looking at him before shifting her gaze away again. "Of course not. Why would he?"

"Where have you been?" Dean asked, confused.

"Prison," she moved her gaze back to meet his. "Upstairs. All the torture, twice the self-righteousness."

"Why wouldn't he have told us where you were?"

"Because he's the one who turned me in," she explained. "Don't look so shocked. He was always a good little soldier. Did anything under orders."

"I didn't know," Dean told her. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him and was surprised by the concern that covered his facial features. "No," she answered with honesty. "And I don't have long. I broke out. Barely. They're looking for me. If they find me—"

"Okay," Dean interrupted her, not needing more to know when he had to help somebody. "What do you need?"

"Meet me. Two-two-five Industrial," she told him. "And, please, just hurry."

Dean awoke abruptly from his dream. He sat up on the bed he had fallen asleep while reading a book about the Apocalypse, and started to breathe quite heavily as he thought about Anna's visit in his dream. He ran a hand through his short hair as he turned his head to the bed next to his, only to find his little brother laying on it with his laptop on top of his stomach and a few books around him. Dean stood up with a sigh as he took the laptop off his snoring brother when he heard a light moan coming from the table at the opposite of the room. Despite the darkness of the room, he could still see the silhouette that was sitting at the table. He went there, a soft smile grazing his lips when he saw Kate, one arm sprawled on the table that was half-covered with open books and her head laying on top of that arm. He wondered how much time she and Sam had spent researching after he dozed off. He remembered leaving his brother doing research on Internet only while Kate was taking notes from only one book. Moreover, the young woman was supposed to go back in the room he had booked for her to have a nice comfy bed to sleep in instead of sleeping in a couch or at a table, but here she was like she had been these past couple of weeks; like she had always been.

All of sudden, Dean remembered Anna and what she had told him about Castiel. He put down Sam's laptop that was still opened and took his cellphone out of his pants' pocket. He didn't want to wake neither Sam and Kate as he was certain that they both needed this sleep after all their hard work, so he started to walk towards the bathroom to call the trench-coat angel in there. The instant he put his hand on the door's handle, Kate started to groan. He turned to look at her and she groaned again.

The groan was a fairly good giveaway that she was having a bad dream.

He immediately went to her, his free hand naturally resting on her upper back that he gently rubbed. However, she kept on groaning as she clenched her fingers around the pages of the notebook that was underneath her hand. Dean glanced at it and then returned his concerned green eyes to her as she began to mumble a few words.

"No… Not him… Can't… Leave him alone… Please… Please, no…"

No doubt, she was having a nightmare.

"Kaitlin," Dean whispered as he put his cellphone down on the table so that he could lay his other hand on her clenching hand. "Kaitlin," he repeated, his thumb caressing the back of her hand, in hope that it would soothe her a bit. "Kaitlin, wake up."

The young woman suddenly jolted awake, her brown eyes wide with fear.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, I got you," Dean told her, his hand leaving her back to cup her cheek and make her look at him. The light from the laptop made it possible for him to see the expression that filled her beautiful eyes, and it simply saddened him.

"I-I… Dean? I-I'm sorry, I woke you, didn't I?" She said in a nearly broken whisper.

"No, I was already awake," he told her, his hand sliding off her cheek to lay on the left side of her neck, right under her ear. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied before noticing the look he was giving her. "I'm _fine_ , Dean. Really," she lifted one hand up to give a reassuring squeeze to his hand that was against her neck. "It was just a nightmare."

"You've been having a lot of those, lately," he remarked.

"Comes with the job, I guess," she gave a little smile, hoping that it would reassure him that there was nothing to worry about.

"We've only been on one hunt since Sam was in that teen's body," he said and she slightly shifted on her seat, which he noticed. "It's about that, huh? You're still thinkin' about that boy."

"I do," Kate admitted.

It was true that since what happened in Housatonic, Massachusetts the young woman had a hard time forgetting about that young teenager that got killed by the demon he summoned in the basement where Sam – stuck in another teenager's body – was held in hostage. She had had a few nightmares about that, but it wasn't the case anymore since a little more than week. However, she kept quiet about what her new nightmares were about.

"But, my bad dreams have nothing to do about this," she continued. "Not anymore at least."

"Alright," Dean murmured, his green eyes scanning her face. "Wanna talk about the new ones, then?" She shook her head. "Not even tonight's new one?"

"No, it's not important," she gave him another little smile to which he sighed, showing her that he didn't like that she hid those kind of things from him. She was going to try and reassure that it truly wasn't that big of a deal when she remembered what he said when she woke up. "Why were you already awake, anyway?"

"I had a dream."

"A bad one, too?" She asked and he tilted his head to the side before sliding his hands off her to stand up. She quietly watched him as he sat on the chair next to hers and dragged it a bit closer to her.

"Actually, it started like a good one," he said after a short moment of silence. "Then, it became a _very_ good one," he couldn't help but smirk at the memory of how the dream had become even better when she appeared in it. He glanced at her and felt bad for thinking about this while she had just woken up from a nightmare. He cleared his throat and continued, "And then… Then, Anna came."

"Anna?"

"Red hair, green eyes, rebellious, ring a bell?"

"The fallen angel," she said and he nodded.

"Yep. She used her angel mojo to pay me a visit," he told her, gazing over at the books on the table while her brown eyes studied his profile, trying to figure out what he wasn't telling her. "She broke out from Heaven's prison."

"What?" Kate blurted out in shock and Dean looked up at her.

"Yeah, apparently the reason why we didn't have any news from her since she got her grace back was 'cause Cas had turned her in," he explained, causing the brunette to frown.

"Castiel would never do that."

"I wanna believe that," he half-mumbled, rubbing a hand down his lips and chin.

" _Believe_ it," Kate told him, but she could see that he was still unsure. She leaned forward, resting a hand on his knee to get him to look at her. "Dean, this is Castiel we're talking about here."

"I know, but back then he wasn't exactly the Cas we know today. He was Heaven's bitch, so maybe he did it. But, if that's the case, why he didn't tell us about it?"

"If that's the case, if he really turned her in, then maybe… I don't know, maybe he felt ashamed or maybe…" she trailed off as she remembered the time when Castiel admitted to her that he was being tortured to follow orders.

" _You are not the only one Heaven is keeping… Motivated,"_ the trench-coated angel had told her.

"What?" Dean pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Maybe we should just ask him instead of speculating," she simply declared before standing up. "Go on, call him. I'll wake Sam up."

Dean didn't say a word as he watched her go over to Sam's bed. Even though she had shrugged off her nightmare as being unimportant – just like she had been doing these past couple of weeks – he was still worried about her. Sam was worried, too. Dean had gotten him to try and get Kate to tell him about her nightmares, but he had as much luck as his elder brother. The two brothers couldn't understand why the brunette didn't want to say a word about her current nightmares. After all, she had told them when it was about the teenage boy. So, why wouldn't she talk about the other ones she had been having? What was she hiding from them again? Dean feared the worst, but he didn't pressure her. He didn't pressure her onto telling him because he knew that sometimes some things were too hard and too painful to speak out loud. However, he never failed showing her that he was there for her.

" _I'm okay, Dean, go back to sleep,"_ she had whispered to him on the night following the ones when she woke up from nightmares about the teenage boy.

" _You're not okay,"_ he had firmly stated, his eyes glued to the brunette who was sitting up on the couch she had stubbornly decided to sleep on no matter how many times he had tried to get her to sleep in the bed instead. _"Look, maybe, I should drive you back to Bobby –"_

" _Don't you dare,"_ she had instantly cut him off.

" _Kaitlin, you've been having nightmares about that boy since you saw his dead body in the basement,"_ Dean had told her before sitting next to her. _"I don't get it, you've seen worse and I don't remember it affecting you this much."_

" _It wasn't him. I didn't dream about the boy this time,"_ she had admitted, throwing a glance at the younger Winchester who was fast asleep in his bed before looking down at her shaky fingers. _"I just…"_ She had trailed off in a weak voice before shaking head in a way that told Dean she didn't want to talk about it.

" _Hey, it's okay,"_ he had told her as he immediately pulled her into his arms. _"It's okay, you're safe. I've got you. I've always got you,"_ he had rubbed her back with firm tenderness, hoping that it would take some of her fear away. They had spent nearly half an hour in that position before Dean had felt Kate drowsing against his chest. He had then carried her to his bed where he let her sleep while he sat on the couch and watched over her until the sunrise.

* * *

 _ **Some time later.**_

 _ **In an abandoned warehouse.**_

"Hello?" The red-haired fallen angel said as she heard some noises in the big and old empty warehouse she had told Dean to meet her at. She could feel that somebody was there, and that this somebody was not Dean. "Who's there?"

The light bulbs on the ceiling started to burst in showers of sparks, darkening even more the place. Looking up at the exploding light bulbs, it didn't take her long to understand what was happening.

"Hello, Anna," a low voice said, and she slowly turned around.

There stood the dark-haired angel that had risen from perdition Dean Winchester. The angel that had turned her in and had thus caused her to go through some of the worst tortures ever created.

"Well. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the Winchesters don't trust me."

"They do," he told her, walking around her. "I _don't_. I wouldn't let them come."

She turned to face him, "And why is that?"

"If you're out of prison, it's because they let you out. And, they sent you here to do their dirty work."

"And what makes you so certain?"

"Because I've experienced... Heaven's _persuasion_."

"You mean when you gave me to them," she told him.

"That was a mistake," he replied before pausing for a few seconds. "Anna, whatever they sent you here to do—"

"They didn't send me," she cut him off. "I escaped."

"No one escapes," he stated.

"All these centuries, and you're underestimating me now?"

"If you're not one of them, then what do you want?" He questioned.

"I want to help."

"Kate said that you would say that," Castiel remarked.

"Kate?" She repeated in a questioning tone, her eyebrows slightly raised on her forehead. She let out a light scoff. "So, it is true. She is still in our world; our universe. Do you plan on keeping her here until she gets killed by a monster or until she becomes the Light?"

"She won't become the Light," Castiel declared with certitude.

"What makes you so sure?"

"She knows it's wrong. She knows that becoming the Weapon will only bring death to billions of innocents. She won't make that choice," he replied and Anna let out a tiny sigh as she tilted her head to the side.

"You don't know what is happening upstairs, do you? You're roaming the Earth with no idea of what your brothers and sisters are doing upstairs," she said and the trench-coated angel squinted his eyes at her. "They haven't given up on using Kate, nor have they given up on getting Dean to say 'yes' to Michael. It's not even because they can't find them at the moment that it means they are not going to find them," she continued. "They are preparing something to stack all the odds in their favor. They can't get a human from Kate's universe, so they are going to do all that can be done to get _her_ to become the Light. They're going to persuade her to accept. And, you know that they can be pretty persuading, Castiel."

The blue-eyed angel frowned, looking away for a moment before shifting his gaze back to her. "You seem to know a lot for somebody who escaped from prison."

"That's exactly how I know everything, Castiel. I've heard things while I was in my cell between two tortures. Zachariah had lost his position for a moment, but, he's back in full charge, now. And, he doesn't just want the battle between Michael and Lucifer to happen, he wants to _win_ and he wants more power. You've heard of the story, Castiel. You know how God made the Light and you know for what purpose He made it. If Zachariah succeeds on getting Kate to obey him, to become his little puppet, then he'll be able to control her as the Light. And, if he's got _this_ weapon with him, then there's nothing to stop him. Not _ever_."

"So, you want to help?" Castiel asked.

"Yes."

"Then what are doing with that knife?" He questioned.

There was a long pause during which Castiel fixed right into Anna's eyes.

She drew the knife out of her jacket and said, "I'm not allowed to defend myself?"

"Against whom?" Castiel immediately asked. "That blade doesn't work against angels. It's not like this one." Anna glanced down at his hand to see that he was holding a long silver knife that she immediately recognized as an angel blade. "Maybe you're not working for Heaven. But there's something you're not telling me."

Anna lifted her gaze from the blade to look at him and told him what she had been keeping for herself. "Sam Winchester has to die." A slight frown washed over Castiel's face for a second, but Anna still noticed it. "I'm sorry but we have no choice. He's Lucifer's vessel."

"He's not the only one."

"What, that guy Nick? He's burning away as we speak. No. Sam is the only vessel that matters," she explained. "You know what that means? If Lucifer can't take Sam, his whole plan short-circuits. No fight with Michael, no Croatoan virus. The Horsemen go back to their day jobs."

"What about Kate? You said the angels want her to become the Weapon."

"Zachariah convinced the angels about turning her into the Light, yes," she confirmed with a nod. "He will do whatever it takes to make her _his_ weapon. Which is why you should have sent her away when you had the opportunity. The doors were open when Lucifer started his ritual to dig out Death, you should have sent her away at that moment."

Castiel didn't say anything. He didn't say that Chronos had come back when Lucifer had started his ritual in Carthage. He didn't say that Chronos had given Kate the chance to escape their universe, but that she had made another choice. He didn't say that it was Kate's free will that had brought her to their universe and he didn't say that it was this brunette's free will that made him believe that there still was a chance to avoid fulfilling what was written.

"So, you want to kill Sam _and_ Kate?" He inquired.

"No, I don't want to," Anna shook her head. "I _have_ to."

"Even if you could... _kill_ Sam, Satan would just bring him back to life," he told her.

"Not after I scatter his cells across the universe," she replied and Castiel slightly clenched his jaw. "As for Kate, I think about doing the same thing. Just in case, Zachariah finds a way to bring her back, too." Castiel turned away. "They'll never find them like that. Or, at least, not all of them. Just some pieces, some atoms."

Castiel's eyebrows knit together as he listened to her words. The touch of crudeness in them reminded him of how the angels think and act. It hit him suddenly that the angels were so aware of their great power that they felt like they could do all they wanted; even killing the vulnerable creatures of their Father.

"We'll find another way," he declared, trying to hold onto the hope that Dean's amulet in his pocket was giving him.

Anna stared at him and realized that he was truly not going to help her kill Sam and Kate. She sighed and asked in a mocked casual tone, "How's that going? How's the Colt working out? Or the search for God? Is anything working? If you want to stop the devil, this is _how_."

"The answer's still no," he sternly replied in half-whisper. "Because Sam and Kate are my friends."

"You've changed," she replied, pretty surprised by his answer.

"Maybe too late, but I have," he declared, turning back to her. "Anna, we've been through much together, but you come near Sam Winchester or Kate Anderson and I'll kill you."

Anna stared at him. She was far from expecting Castiel to tell her such thing. He had always been the good little soldier who followed orders without asking, but now, he was a whole different angel. His protectiveness for these humans that he now called friends and his strong hope in finding a solution that won't need the killing of what she would call a mere mortal were two things that she would have never expected to see him display. Castiel wasn't the angel she had known in the past, not anymore. He had too many human feelings to be the angel he used to be.

Without a word, she disappeared into thin air, leaving Castiel to understand that chances were that he would truly have to kill her.

* * *

When Castiel came back to the motel, the trio was impatiently waiting for him to come back with Anna. They were surprised to see him coming back alone and a bit alarmed. He told them his encounter with the fallen angel, taking them all even more aback. They weren't expecting somebody they had previously risked their lives protecting to plan to kill them; _or at least_ two of them. Sam's reaction had been very quiet and thoughtful unlike Dean who kept repeating out loud that he couldn't believe Anna would do such a thing.

As for Kate, she was a mixture of the two brothers. For a moment she expressed her disbelief of what Castiel had told them, but then she stopped and started to _think_ about what Castiel had told them. Kate didn't know what to think of the information Anna had given him. She was convinced that the angels had given up on making her become the Weapon. Their last attempt had been throughout Matt, and at the end it had turned out to be a failure. Besides, after her dimensional and time traveling with Mary Winchester, Kate had come to believe that she had control over her destiny. Wasn't it what Chronos had made her understand? That she was from a universe with no destinies at all while this universe full of monsters was also full of inevitable destinies?

"It doesn't work," Castiel stated in his low voice breaking Kate out of her thoughts. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in a foot away from the table where the angel was standing, performing a powerful locating spell that Kate had written down on one of her notebooks.

"Well, maybe we could do like we did when we were looking for Dean?" She suggested, passing by Dean who pacing back and forth, thinking hard about what Castiel had told them. Once next to the angel, Kate continued, "You know, a bit of yours, a bit of mine?" That got Dean to freeze on spot and look at them. "I mean, we'd need to alternate a couple of things since she's an angel." Dean shook his head and went back to his pacing back and forth in the room.

"The symbol," Castiel declared, wiping with his hand the symbol he had drawn in chalk on the table.

Kate watched as Castiel drew another symbol that she hadn't seen anywhere else before. Once he was done, she turned her head towards the elder Winchester, "Dean, you're gonna dig a hole in the floor if you keep walking back and forth."

"I just… I don't believe it," Dean said, stopping in the middle of the room. "I mean, Anna? _Really_?"

"It's true," Castiel simply stated as he put the chalk away. "If you don't believe me –"

"We believe you, Cas," Kate declared in a firm tone. "All of us."

The angel lifted up his head, his piercing blue eyes looking right into the warm brown eyes of the young woman. The expression in her eyes brought him some reassurance that the trust and the affection he felt for her and for the Winchesters was reciprocated. He couldn't explain the feeling, but it felt nice.

"So she's gone all Glenn Close, huh?" Dean said, unwillingly breaking the brief moment between the angel and the impossible girl. "That's awesome."

"Who's Glenn Close?" Castiel asked with confusion, causing Kate to crack a little smile.

She patted his arm and then walked past Dean who followed her with his eyes until she took a seat in the bed across the one on which Sam was sitting in silence for a handful of minutes now.

The green-eyed hunter sighed, "No one, just this psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits."

"You're okay?" Kate asked Sam in a soft tone as she watched him.

He looked up at her with an expression that showed how much he wasn't okay.

"I've been thinking and I can't help wondering if… What Anna said, that plan to kill me, would it actually stop Satan?"

"No, Sam, come on!" Dean exclaimed, looking at his brother while Kate's body seemed to freeze all of sudden.

She stared at the younger Winchester without saying a word. His question had brought back up the questions that she had asked herself when Castiel had told them about Anna's plan; the questions that she had shook off as she had managed to convince herself that Anna's plan was crazy and was lacking of sense. However, to hear Sam ask this exact question hit her hard. She was certain that he wouldn't say those words. Not him; not the young man who always remained optimist to find a way to fix whatever problem came to them. But, what if… What if he thought that Anna's plan was good from A to Z? It was fair to think that if he believed his death meant Lucifer would be stopped, then there were high chances that he believed her death would stop the angels from using the most destroying weapon of Heaven.

Sam glanced up at his brother and then looked over at Castiel, not noticing the way Kate, quiet, had now dropped her gaze.

"Cas, what do you think? Does Anna have a point?" Sam asked the angel.

Dean looked at Castiel, pleading with his eyes that the angel wouldn't say something that would encourage Sam's current way of thinking.

Castiel looked at him and then shifted his gaze to Sam, "No. She's, uh, Glenn Close."

"I don't get it," Dean said, crossing his arms on his strong chest. "We're looking for the chick that wants to gank Sam and Kate. Why poke the bear?"

"Anna will keep trying. She won't give up until they are dead. So we kill her first," Castiel simply explained before going back to perform the locating spell. He poured into the bowl that was sitting on the table some oil that he had brought from some place in the Middle East and then started to chant in Enochian.

When the bowl shot red flame, Castiel stepped away from the table, letting out grunts that caused Kate to turn to look over at him. She immediately stood up when she saw him close his eyes and lean on the back of a chair while breathing heavily. With no hesitation she went over to him while Sam and Dean watched the angel from their spots, confusion splashed on their faces.

"Cas, are you okay?" Kate asked, one hand on his back and the other holding his arm, trying to give him some kind of support.

He opened his eyes and looked up at her, "I've found her."

"Where is she?" Dean asked, approaching them.

"Not where. _When_ ," Castiel corrected.

"When?" Kate repeated in sync with the Winchesters.

"It's 1978," he said, straightening up as Kate let go of him.

"What?" Sam exclaimed, leaping off the bed to join them nearby the table.

"Why 1978? I wasn't even born yet," Sam said before glancing down at the brunette. "Or is she trying to somehow get at Katie first?"

Kate glanced up at Sam. She realized all of sudden that Sam had no intention to let her die. He had no intention to let Anna kill her. As much as he seemed to believe that there was a shot at saving the planet through his death, he seemed to not believe the other half of Anna's plan. Or maybe it was something else... Something bigger, something worse. Something that was linked to Sam's tendency to blame himself for everything… Something that Kate didn't want to even imagine Sam ever thinking about committing.

"No, that wouldn't make any sense. Unless you forgot to tell us that you traveled to the late 70s too?" Dean said, looking down at Kate.

"Mmh? What?" The brunette shifting her gaze up to him. "Uh, no, of course not."

"Even if you had, I am more than certain that you're not her first target," Castiel said before moving his blue eyes up to the taller man in the room. "Sam is."

"But, how? I wasn't born yet," Sam repeated.

"You won't be if she kills your parents," Castiel stated.

"What?" The trio asked simultaneously.

"Anna can't get to you because of me. So she's going after them," the angel explained.

"Take us back right now," Dean ordered.

"And deliver you right to Anna? I should go alone," Castiel replied.

"They're our parents. Cas, we're going," Dean firmly declared.

"It's not that easy," Castiel said, taking a few steps away from the table as the two brothers and the brunette followed him with their eyes.

"Why not?" Sam inquired.

"I don't have the same powers as Chronos. Some angels have more easiness with time travel; I am not one of them."

"You've already brought me back once," Dean reminded him.

"Time travel is difficult; it was difficult back then even with the powers of Heaven at my disposal," he briefly explained before walking a couple of feet away from them.

"But you're cut off," Sam sighed.

"So, what, you're like a DeLorean without plutonium?" Dean commented in a questioning tone.

"I don't understand that reference," the angel turned to him. "If Chronos hadn't run away then we could have tried to summon him or use some of the essence of his power."

At Castiel's words, a flashback took hold of Kate.

" _I gave you some of the essence of the Guardians power. It won't serve you to win this war. It won't serve you to win any war. It will serve you for just one thing: to go to another universe. Two one-way tickets to save yourself and one person that you don't want –_ _ **can't**_ _leave behind,"_ Chronos had told her before leaving her in Bobby's salvage yard after her journey with Mary Winchester.

"I can still travel," the dark-haired angel continued, breaking the flashback. "But I'm telling you, taking this trip, with passengers no less…It'll weaken me."

"They're our mom and dad," Dean walked up to him. "If we can save them, and not just from Anna... I mean if we can set things right, we have to try."

Kate lightly frowned as she kept her eyes on Dean's back. He had never asked her to tell him her journey with his mother. As a matter of fact, ever since she came back he had been acting as though she hadn't spent over a week with his mother. He hadn't stayed in Bobby's living room when Kate had started to tell about her time with Mary. He hadn't wanted her to tell her more after she told him that she had left his ring with his mother. He hadn't wanted to hear anything about his mother. She had understood that it hurt Dean to listen to these times Kate had spent with his mother while he had just a few memories of his four years with her. She had understood that it was painful for him and so she had stopped mentionning his mother when with him. However, now she couldn't help but wonder if the reason behind all of that was because he blamed her for not saving his mother.

* * *

After Castiel eventually gave in and accepted go back in time with the trio, Kate left the room to go bring the one jar of holy-oil from her duffle bag. Her bag was in another room that Dean had booked for her in case she needed some intimacy after spending so long sharing a room with the two brothers. However, she hadn't used that room aside from showering and changing in there. Indeed, she spent all of her time researching with them in their room and ended up falling asleep on their couch or at the table.

Once in the small room, she walked to the undone king-size bed, on which she had dropped her bag. She zipped it open and ruffled for a second before taking out the jar of holy-oil she came for. She was ready to go back to Sam and Dean's room, but she found herself unable to move from her spot.

Her brown eyes fixated at the jar as Dean's voice echoed in her head.

" _They're our mom and dad… If we can save them, and not just from Anna... I mean if we can set things right, we have to try."_

She then remembered that time when she admitted to them that Mary Winchester had been with her along her insane journey through time and dimensions.

" _You couldn't have done anything,"_ Castiel had stated after she showed how regretful and guilty she felt to not have saved the blonde-haired woman. _"Destiny can't be changed."_

" _I could have tried to warn her,"_ Kate had told him, tears forming in her eyes.

" _No,"_ Sam had gently whispered, shaking his head.

" _Don't beat yourself up, Kate,"_ Bobby had told her. _"No matter what you would have done, it would still have happened. Like Castiel said, some things can't be changed."_

" _Yeah, all roads lead to the same destination,"_ Dean had muttered.

Kate could remember with clarity the little smile that he had given her after saying that, but she could also remember the sadness in his eyes. A deep sadness that had gotten her to understand that maybe she shouldn't have told them about meeting Mary and not saving her; not even warning her.

" _I mean if we can set things right, we have to try…"_ Dean's voice repeated in the back of her mind.

" _We have to try…"_

A sudden knock on the door pulled Kate out of her thoughts. She looked over at the door she left ajar and saw the younger Winchester slowly pushing it to come in. "Katie? You're okay?"

"What?" She asked in a whisper.

"You've been here for over ten minutes," he stated, walking towards her with lines of concern forming on his forehead.

The brunette glanced up to the clock on the wall and realized that she had indeed spent a good fifteen minutes lost in her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was taking so long," she apologized. "But, I got it," she raised the jar up and flashed him a smile that he immediately recognized as the fake one she gave when she was hiding something.

"Everything's alright?" He asked her with a frown, and she couldn't have lied if she tried. His green-hazel eyes looked at her with such sincere concern that there was no way she could avoid responding to that question.

"I… What Dean said… Do you think he holds it against me that I didn't save your mother—"

"What? No!" Sam instantly cut her off. "Katie, no. He knows you wouldn't have been able to do anything. He knows it, trust me." She gave a little nod although not entirely convinced but he didn't seem to notice as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, next to her bag. He linked his fingers together and said, "To be honest, I don't know if it's even gonna work, but I understand why he wanna try. And, I think you can understand, too. I think you can understand why he – _we_ – wanna try to save our mom, why we wanna try to fix it." Sam paused before exhaling a short sigh through his nostrils. Kate slowly put the jar down on the bed, remaining quiet as she listened to Sam, her eyes glued to his profile. "You know, just like him I've dreamt about going back and changing it all, too. I've dreamt it more times than I can count. I've always wondered what it would be like if she hadn't died. Where would Dean and I be? What would we be doing? What kind of men we would have become?" He paused again before looking up at her. "I've had a taste of normal life, but Dean never did. He's never known what it's like to have a normal life," he returned is gaze to the wall in front of him. "To have the life of ordinary Joe, and I'm not talking about the whole living in a house with a white picket fence, a wife and kids. I mean sure he'd like that, he always wanted that even if he never talks about it, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the simple things. Dean has never known them. He's never known what it is to have this kind of life. To sleep in after a night with no hunting in the dark woods and to wake up with the one you love the most sleeping in your arms, with absolutely no worry about hurrying up to find a new weird case to solve. He doesn't know what it's like and he's always wanted that kind of life."

"I know," Kate said, her voice coming stronger than she expected. "I know and if I had saved your mother then we wouldn't be having this conversation now." Sam's eyebrows knit together as he stared at her. "If I had saved your mother then Dean and you would be safe. You would be living a safe, monster-less and _happy_ life." She took a step back, one hand going on her hip and the other going up to rub furiously her forehead. "Y-you wouldn't be having to spend your life fighting terrifying creatures that leave you with scars and nightmares at night. And, you wouldn't be wondering if killing yourself can save the world! Y-you…" She said in a broken voice, which caused Sam to leap off the bed to go wrap his arms around her in a comforting hug.

Kate's hand dropped from her forehead to grip Sam's brown-yellow shirt as he gently stroked the back of her head with one hand and squeezed the back of her shoulders with the other.

The two friends remained quiet for a good minute before the brunette spoke up, "You do it right, okay? You don't let Anna kill you, and," she stepped back, breaking the hug, and looked up to meet his green-hazel eyes. "And, you save her. You save your mom." Sam stared at her as she wiped the one tear that escaped her eye. "You give yourself and your brother the lives that you deserve. The safe, happy and normal ordinary Joe life that you two deserve. Okay?"

Sam remained speechless as it hit him all of sudden what changing their past truly meant. He hadn't really thought about it. He had only thought about what he would get from changing his past, he hadn't thought about what he would be losing. He hadn't thought about the people he would lose.

* * *

When Sam and Kate returned in the room, they found Castiel packing a duffle bag with a couple of things, his angel blade and another ceramic jar similar to the one Kate was bringing from her own bag. Kate went over to him while Sam closed the door. He walked to them, his eyes scanning the room while Kate quietly gave the jar to Castiel to pack in the bag.

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked the angel.

"He went to his car," Castiel informed him.

"Didn't he already go there before I went to check on Katie?" Sam frowned.

"He said he had to bring a weapon from the car," Castiel replied.

"A weapon?" Sam inquired, confused.

"He said it was an important and useful weapon," Castiel simply explained. Sam didn't ask more as he just went to take his jacket from his bed. The angel shifted his attention to the quiet brunette standing next to him. "Are you alright?"

She gazed up at him and then moved her eyes over to Sam who was looking at them while putting on his jacket. The angel followed her gaze and gave a curious look at the young man, wondering what was happening. Once his jacket on, Sam licked his lips and made two steps towards them, "She's not coming."

"What?" Castiel asked, returning his puzzled blue eyes to the brunette.

"I'm not coming to the past with you," she told him, looking up at him.

"You're not coming?" Dean's gruff voice asked all of sudden. They all turned their attention to the door to see that the older hunter was standing a couple feet away from it. They hadn't heard him opening the door and walking in the room, but there he was, the familiar water gun in one hand and a very Dean-like frown on his face.

"I'm not," Kate simply replied in almost a whisper. She did her best not to break the eye contact with him as she knew it was the only way to show the determination in her decision since her voice had failed at doing it.

"And, how are we supposed to protect you if you stay behind?" He asked, walking up to her.

"I can protect myself –"

"No," he interrupted her, putting almost violently the empty gun water on the table. "Not when an angel is after you."

"There are far more than one angel after me, Dean," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but none of them plan on killing you and then scattering your atoms throughout the universe!" He half-shouted, his green eyes filled with an almost angry lack of understanding at her decision.

"Dean," Sam began.

"No," Dean sternly said, holding his hand up to stop his brother without even looking at him. "Kaitlin, you don't get it. Staying behind is reckless –"

"Is it?" She cut him off. "You used to have a quite different speech in the past."

"Come on, you know this situation is different!" He exclaimed, taking a step back as he threw his arms up in frustration. "Anna is determined to kill you." He looked over at his brother, " _both_ of you." He returned his gaze to the brunette and continued, "I'm not gonna give her a chance at killing you by leaving you on your own here!"

"Dean, you don't get it," she said in a calm voice, stepping closer to him so that there was just a little space between them, while the two others wordlessly watched them from their spots. "If you stop Anna in the past, if you… If you set everything right, then all of us will be alright." Her brown eyes were looking right into his green eyes with a gentleness that mirrored the softness of her voice. However, Dean was still torn, and it was easy to read it on his face, so Kate continued, "Besides, the less passenger our angel's got, the easier it will be for him. Right?" She turned her head to the angel.

"Right," Castiel simply confirmed.

"See?" She said, turning her head back to Dean. His eyes traveled all over her face for a moment, as though trying to find something that he could use against her arguments to get her to come along with them.

"Still, it doesn't mean you're gonna be safe," he insisted in half a mutter, not finding a better argument.

"I will. I'll stay in my room until you get back. I'll be safe, I drew some angel-proof symbols in my room. Why do you think I was taking so long in there?" She convincingly lied to him, causing Sam to lightly frown as he looked at her. He had seen the room and it was bare from any protection symbols. Kate glanced at him and when their eyes met, he instantly knew that she didn't want him to say a word so he sighed, dropping his gaze while she moved hers back to Dean. "Just go there, okay? Go there and fix it all."

Dean stared at her for a moment. He didn't like the idea of leaving her behind no matter what she told him to convince him that she'd be alright. He looked at his brother for some kind of support but when he saw that the latter was staring at the floor, he understood that Sam wouldn't be of any help. He looked at Castiel and immediately met his piercing blue eyes.

"Ready?" Castiel asked and Dean sighed.

He looked down at the brunette standing in front of him, her eyes staring right back at him. He knew it would be a waste of breath to try and convince someone as stubborn as her, especially if no one else was going to side with him on this one.

"Yeah, alright," he eventually mumbled. "Let's go."

Kate smiled at his final answer and reassured him, "Everything will be fine."

"Huh," Dean scoffed while Castiel packed the water gun in the bag before zipping it closed. "You be careful. If anything happens before we come back, you call Matt, okay?"

"I'm sure I won't need to, but yeah, okay, you've got my word," she nodded.

"Shall we?" Castiel inquired and Sam walked up to them.

Kate turned to the younger Winchester as he took the bag from Castiel and swung it up on his shoulder. "You ready?" She smiled up at him, attempting to show him that she was strong even though he had seen her at the edge of crying a few minutes ago.

"I…" Sam started before he followed Dean with his eyes as the latter went to take his green-khaki military jacket from the edge of his bed. "Why?" He mouthed at her and she immediately knew what he was wondering. She shook her head, silently telling him not to ask and then she gave him an affectionate smile before going on her tip-toes to wrap her arms around the back of his neck and bring him down for a hug.

Sam wrapped his arms around her and swallowed down as he remembered that what they were going to do in the past could erase her from his life. If they managed to somehow save their mother from Azazel then Dean and he would have a normal, ordinary childhood. They would never grow to be hunters and so they would never meet Bobby Singer. Never meeting Bobby Singer would mean never having anything to do at his place when Kate traveled from her universe. In fact, Kate would have never traveled from her universe since she was the one who made her past-self travel to their universe when she was with their mother. It was all head-aching complicated, but all that Sam knew was that wouldn't even be a memory. By changing the past, he would never meet Kate. Not just him, but Dean too.

"Alright, alright, I think that's enough hugging, you two," Dean said as he returned by the table where the two friends were hugging. Sam and Kate pulled apart and Kate noticed the sad expression on the younger Winchester's face, but she didn't have time to react as Dean continued, "Do you guys need more time alone?"

Kate turned to him and tried to joke in order to hide the fear and sadness that were filling her at this moment. "Jealous much?"

"Me? Jealous? Please," he snorted. "We're just in a hurry."

"There's no hurry with time travel," Kate told him, sounding a bit too thoughtful instead of amusing as she had wanted to.

The thing was that her heart didn't feel like pretending to be alright with what was going to happen. And, that was _exactly_ this. The moment her eyes set on Dean, she had bee, hit even harder by what was going to happen. Sam and Dean were going to the past to stop Anna but also to try and save their mother from her rueful fate. No matter what Chronos had said about Mary's fate being a fixed point that couldn't be changed, Kate was still extremely afraid that the two brothers succeeded on changing it. She was afraid of losing all her memories with them. She was afraid of losing every moment spent with them and with everyone she met in this universe. All these people had saved her in so many ways. It scared her to think of what would have happened if she hadn't met them. The thing was that they had come into her life in a time when loneliness and despair and bad choices had become part of her life. They had come into her life and they had changed it; they had saved her. These people she had come to love so deeply had saved her and she didn't want to lose them. Not any of them.

"We should go," Castiel declared, pulling the brunette out of her thoughts.

She turned and looked at the angel. She would have hugged him if she didn't know about his terrible social skills. So, she simply gave him a nod, her eyes staring into his for a moment as she hoped that he already knew how much she valued him.

"Cas is right," she eventually declared before she felt a hand land gently on the middle of her back. She turned and looked up at Dean. "You should go."

"We're going," the green-eyed hunter told her. "Don't do anything reckless, okay?"

"I should be the one telling you this," Kate replied with an attempted teasing smile, but still her heart didn't feel like pretending to be playful and okay with what was going to happen.

"I'm serious," he stated, his hand still on her middle back. "You be safe. Once we're gone, you get to your room and you stay in there, okay?"

"Okay."

"We'll be right back."

These words froze her for an instant. The next second she had her arms around his neck as she brought him down for a hug just like she had done for his little brother. She held him tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. He could feel how afraid she was. It was all in the way her fingers curled around the cloth of his jacket as though she didn't want to ever let go. "Hey, come on, we'll be alright, you said it yourself." Kate closed her eyes as she lowered her head until her nose was against the top of his shoulder for her to inhale his unique scent of leather and gun powder that mixed in his earthy cologne. It was his perfume, the one she liked, the one that made her feel safe, the one that made her feel at home.

"I know," she whispered and then took a step back, breaking the hug. She looked up at him, her arms sliding down to his forearms and gave him a little smile before stepping aside.

Dean looked at her, his eyebrows knit together in a frown before Castiel grabbed his attention as he said, "Let's go."

Sam looked back and forth at Kate and Dean as Castiel approached the two brothers.

Kate watched them as questions ran through her mind. Would it be wrong if she wished that Chronos was right and that they couldn't save their mother? Would it be too wrong and too selfish for her to wish that they didn't change their past and just got back here? Would it be wrong to ask them to come back right after stopping Anna from killing their mother and just leave their mother die on November 2nd like she was supposed to?

"Alright," Dean sighed before looking up at his little brother. "Bend your knees."

Kate mentally cursed at herself for her awful questions. Of course, it would be wrong. She couldn't wish those awful things. God, how terrible she could be sometimes! Mary deserved to be saved and above all else Sam and Dean deserved to have their safe normal life. Their safe and happy normal life. They deserved it even if it meant that she would disappear from this universe and find herself back in her universe, back in her stupid, old life.

Sam ducked down a little as Castiel reached out to touch their foreheads with his fingers and teleport them and himself back in time.

"Wait!" Kate exclaimed, causing the three to look at her.

With no further word, she walked to Dean whose eyes were glued on her. She went on the tip of her toes and kissed him on his lips. Although a bit taken aback, Dean wasn't long to respond to her kiss.

These past couple of weeks, he had been surprised to find himself not frustrated at the lack of action with the pretty brunette. Maybe it was because he had still found happiness in simply stealing a few kisses from her, or maybe it was because he had accepted to take it slow with her, and he liked it so far. He liked how simple, nice and real it felt to not rush in what they had because it made him feel like they truly had something. And, Dean had never had something. Not something like this that is to say.

The kiss Kate was giving was full of a tenderness that Dean gave back. The way Kate locked Dean's lower lip in between her lips made Dean feel the strength she put in that kiss. He didn't know that for Kate it was a strength to feel and to remember what would maybe never happen if the past came to be changed.

When she broke the kiss, Dean slowly opened his eyes to see her stepping back with an expression of affection and something else that he couldn't pinpoint. Neither of them noticed the way Sam and Castiel were watching them. It was as though they were in their own little world; their little bubble like Sam had called it on several times these past couple of weeks.

"Thank you," Kate said, causing Dean to frown before Castiel put his fingers on the Winchesters' foreheads and the three disappeared.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ready to disappear as well.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I am sincerely sorry for this very,** _ **very**_ **late update. I know that I had promised to update as soon as I'd get my exams done, but a lot happened to me. First, I had the misfortune to have an accident during one of my finals weeks, then I failed a very important exam in such a royal way that it got my spirits so frigging down… Then, my mother's aunt (who was like a grandma for me since mine passed away when I was a kid) passed away all of sudden… It was really hard for me to get back onto writing a fic or even watching my favorite shows… I just didn't want to do anything… Also, I had to keep my part-time job, so I don't have as much free time as I thought I would have…**

 **I am aware of how easy it is for me to use all of these things as an excuse but I hope you will understand.**

 **On a positive note, I'd like to say that I have a few chapters ready and I just need to find the time (and the motivation…) to type them down on my laptop so that I can then send them to one of my beautiful betareaders before finally posting them on here! If everything goes as planned, you should get the next chapter next week (I swear to God that I won't post in another century!)**

 **I also wanted to thank each and every one of you who keep supporting me by leaving reviews, putting my stories in their favorites, following it, etc. I went back on reading all of your reviews and they just made me feel a lot better and they also made me realize how terrible I was to all of you with my infrequent updates… Also I feel like my writing isn't as entertaining as it used to be, and I would even say that my writing isn't as good as it was period. I know some of you told me that my writing skills improved, but as of lately I'm not so sure. Then again, I'm not the most confident girl in the world, so yeah… Anyways, I promise that I will keep on working on my writing. Hopefully the upcoming chapters will be better at all the levels. If you ever feel like I should change something, add something or whatever else, please tell me.**

 **Thank you again for reading my story and for bearing all of my late updates while there is so much better out there. Your support means a lot to me. Truly.**

 **All my love,**

 **A.**


	20. Chapter 20

**This chapter is settled in the episode** _ **'The Song Remains the Same'**_ **(5x13).**

 **I dedicate this chapter to all my loyal and supportive readers! I hope you guys will enjoy it!**

* * *

When Castiel teleported himself and the Winchester brothers to 1978, his fears of traveling back in time proved to be justified as he violently landed a few feet away from where Sam and Dean gently did in the middle of the street. The angel's energy had been entirely sucked out of him, he had never felt this worn out and weak. An aching pain inside of him had even gotten him to spit blood and pass out when Sam and Dean had found him collapsed against a car. He was barely breathing when Dean had settled him in the honeymoon suite of a hotel. As worried as the two brothers were about their angel friend, they knew that time was running out for them to find Anna and stop her from killing their parents. Thus, once Sam found their parents' address, Dean quickly went to hot-wire a car and they made their way up to their parents' place. The road trip had been pretty calm as both Sam and Dean were lost in their thoughts. The anticipation of seeing their parents was big, and it was, of course, even bigger for Sam. Kate had told him so many things about his mother that he just craved to see her now. Although the brunette had met his mother in another and future time, Sam was more than convinced that his mother would still be as amazing in 1978 than she was in 1983 according to what Kate had told him. Nonetheless, to meet his mother he had to make sure that Anna didn't kill her first.

When they saw the house, Sam had put his hand on the car's door's handle, ready to open the door before his brother even parked.

"Sam! Sam," Dean called after his little brother who was rapidly making his way up to their parents' house. "Wait, wait, wait, wait."

Sam stopped, turned and looked at Dean who had caught up with him, "Dean, Anna could be here any second."

"What exactly are we gonna march up there and tell 'em?" Dean asked him.

"Uh, the truth," Sam replied as though stating the obvious.

"What, that their sons are back from the future to save them from an angel? Gone 'Terminator'? Come on, those movies haven't even come out yet!"

"Well, then tell her demons are after them. I mean, she thinks you're a hunter, right?"

"Yeah, a hunter who disappeared right when her dad died. She's gonna _love_ me," Dean sarcastically replied.

"Look, we gotta save them from Anna and then we can get back to Cas and get back to the future," the younger man declared.

"Yeah, after we tell them about Yellow-Eyed demon," Dean nodded, causing a thoughtful expression to appear on Sam's face. "Alright. Just follow my lead," Dean told him, already walking up to the house before his brother could even say a word.

It seemed to Sam that Dean was only seeing the big picture of what would happen if they saved their mother from Azazel. He didn't seem to understand that changing something as big as their mother's death was going to bring a snowball effect on their future. He seemed to be oblivious of all details such as the people they had saved, the people they had met, the people they had loved… The people they _loved_...

 _"I hate you!"_ Sam had exclaimed, arriving at the end of the long street Kate and he had been racing in after their morning jogging.

 _"No, you don't,"_ she had laughed, her hands on her hips as she was still catching her breath.

 _"You cheated. You ran two seconds ahead,"_ he had told her, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath aswell.

 _"Oh come on, that's barely cheating. You could have caught me up with your four-feet long legs,"_ she had chuckled, waving her hand at him and causing him to laugh and shake his head. _"Not my fault if you're not very fast, Winchester."_

 _"I've never really been the fast one. It's always been Dean,"_ he had told her as she had started to stretch her legs.

 _"Really? With legs like yours and all this work out and jogging you do, I would have thought you were the fastest one."_

 _"No. Somehow he had always been the fastest one when it comes to running, whether it's after a monster or a girl,"_ he had replied, causing the brunette to snigger. He had looked up at her for a brief instant, trying to read her face before continuing. _"But, then again, I guess we won't see him running after a girl anymore."_

 _"Well, you don't know that,"_ she had joked.

 _"Actually, I do. I mean, it's kinda obvious that there's only one girl in his mind lately_ ," he had replied with a playful smile and she had blushed, dropping her gaze to her snickers. _"You and Dean, it's... It's serious… Or at least it's going down that road, right?"_

Kate had stayed quiet for a moment before looking up and responding, _"I guess."_

 _"You guess?"_

 _"It's just... Why do you want me to qualify what's going on between your brother and me as serious or half-serious or not serious at all or whatever else?"_

 _"_ _ **Relationship**_ _. That's what it's called; the_ _ **thing**_ _going on between my brother and you_ ," he had told her and she had bit on her lips, looking away. _"I guess it's okay to not wanna qualify it as serious or anything else, but why is it so hard for him and you to call it what it is? A relationship."_

 _"I don't know. I just... I don't have an amazing history in these kind of things…"_

 _"Neither does he,"_ Sam had told her. _"It's not because he's been with a lot of women in the past that it means he knows what it is to_ _ **actually**_ _be with a woman."_

 _"Yeah, I know, he and I have already talked about this. But, it's just... I don't know. Our…_ _ **Relationship**_ _. It's something new. Not just for him, but for me, too. And, it's something that can ruin_ _ **everything**_ _… That's actually one of the reasons why I wanna take it slow with him. I'm afraid that if we rush, then… You know, he'll get what he wants and then I'll just become garbage,"_ she had nervously chuckled.

" _Do you really think that low about Dean?"_

" _No, I…"_ she had sighed before biting on her lower lip with frustration for a brief second. _"Look, it may be my brain doing that stupid over-over-_ _ **over**_ _-thinking, or it could be me being pragmatic and realistic."_

" _No, it's you being blind,"_ Sam had told her. _"Dean_ _ **cares**_ _about you, Katie."_

" _I care about him, too, Sam. But, we both know your brother –"_

" _Obviously, you don't. Look, I know him better than anyone in the world,"_ he had said, taking a step closer to her _. "He would never hurt you. He would never treat you as garbage. You will never become garbage for him, Katie. He cares about you; he_ _ **needs**_ _you."_ She had looked away, obviously not really taking his words for what they were. _"He does, Katie. You didn't see him losing his mind when he thought he had lost you forever when Chronos took you with him back in September. He was angry, hopeless and broken. The last time I had seen him like that was when our father died. I know my brother, Katie, I know him. He cares about you more than he'll ever admit. And, he needs you."_

 _"I... I need him, too,"_ she had whispered in response. _"I was a wreck when I came in this universe, but I feel better today, and I know that's because of him and of all of you actually. No matter how many monsters or other creatures have entered my world since I met all of you, I know that I'm doing much better today. So... So it was all worth it. It_ _ **is**_ _all worth it. I think that... That without him and without you, I don't think I would have gone very far... But, then again, I'm not the only one you've saved…"_

Sam snapped out of his flashback and looked towards his brother who was just two feet away from the porch of their parent's house. "Dean, wait!" He called after him, running up to him. Nevertheless, he wasn't fast enough as his brother rang the doorbell just one second before he reached him. "Dean, we gotta talk before you tell them about Azazel."

"What?" Dean frowned at him, not understanding what his brother meant by that.

However, Sam didn't have the time to say any more word as the front door swung open to reveal a beautiful blonde-haired woman whose bright smile fell at the sight of Dean.

"Hi, Mary," Dean began as a greeting before she cut him off.

"You can't be here."

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time," he started before she interrupted him again.

"You don't understand. I'm not…" She paused as she glanced up at Sam who was staring at her with eyes already glistening with emotion.

The young man couldn't believe that his mother was standing before him. He couldn't believe that he was hearing his mother's voice. He couldn't believe it. She looked even more beautiful than in the few pictures of hers he had contemplated for hours when daydreaming of the kind of life he could have had if she hadn't been gone too soon.

"I don't do _that_ anymore," Mary continued, returning her blue eyes to Dean. "I have a normal life now. You have to go."

She moved back to close the door, but Dean held an arm out to stop her, "I'm sorry, but this is important, okay?"

Dean immediately stopped as John approached the doorway with a cough to clear his throat before swinging the door open wider. In an instant, Dean had a straighter posture while Sam's eyebrows shot to his forehead. To see his mother was something, but to see his father with such a young and _happy_ face was something that Sam had never thought possible.

"Sorry, sweetie, they're just..." Mary began, turning to her husband.

"Mary's cousins," Dean quickly said as he noticed that their mother wasn't sure of what to say. "We couldn't stop through town without swinging by and saying 'hey', now, could we?" He grinned before holding his hand out for John to shake, "Dean."

"You look familiar," John told him, his eyebrows knit together as he shook Dean's hand.

"Really?" Dean said, not knowing what to respond to that. "Well, yeah, you do too, actually, you know? We must have met sometime. Small towns, right? Gotta love 'em."

His father smiled in agreement before holding his hand out for Sam to shake as he introduced himself, "I'm John."

Sam stared at his father's hand for a moment before taking it. He remained quiet, still shaken up by this meeting. It was more overwhelming than he had thought it would be.

"This is Sam," Dean said for his little brother.

"Sam," John smiled. "Uh, Mary's father was a Sam."

Sam could only smile and nod, his hand still holding John's.

"Uh, it's a—it's a family name," Dean gave as a lame explanation.

John looked down at Sam's hand that didn't seem to want to let go of his, "You okay, pal? You look a little spooked."

Sam dropped his father's hand abruptly. He looked up at him and managed to let out a few words, "Oh. Oh, yeah. Just a... long trip."

"Yeah," Dean chuckled, trying not to look nervous.

"Well, Sam and Dean were just on their way out," Mary said, trying to get them to leave quickly.

"What? They just got here," John said before turning to look at the two young men standing in front of them. "Really happy to meet folks from Mary's side. Please come on in for a beer."

"Twist my arm," Dean said, causing Mary to glare at him.

"Come on in, then," John grinned at them, stepping back with his wife to let them in.

Dean had a little smile on his lips as his green eyes scanned the lightly decorated hallway. The walls displayed a few pictures of family members and of John and Mary; pictures full of a genuine happiness that couldn't not catch his attention. Dean turned to John and Mary, "We're just in the hallway and yet I can see that you got a nice, cozy place, here."

Sam walked in, not saying a word as he threw a quick glance at the interior before returning his bright hazel eyes to the young couple.

"Oh, you know," John said, closing the door and then turning to flash them a friendly smile. "It's just home."

Sam and Dean watched him for a moment, the same word crossing their mind and causing a sad twinge in their heart.

 _Home_.

* * *

The four Winchesters were sitting in the living room, John and Mary across Sam and Dean. The two brothers had taken some time to scan the hallway and the living room. They had stopped in front of a picture of a grinning John and Mary at the Grand Canyon, and John had been more than happy to tell them that it was taken on their honeymoon some time ago. He hadn't had the time to say more as Mary had come back to the living room with three cold beers, subtly urging the three men to sit down so that they could all quickly get this drinking done. The quicker they drank it, the sooner Sam and Dean would go away. The plan was good, but she hadn't counted on Sam to be too focused on her to even drink a sip of his beer. From the moment she had joined them back in the living room, the taller of the men hadn't taken his eyes off of her and it was slowly starting to make her feel uncomfortable.

Little did she know why Sam couldn't take his eyes off of her. To see his mother in flesh and not in a picture or even as a ghost was incredible. Unlike Dean who had some memories of their mother, Sam had none. Still, with the few pictures of her and the few things he had been told about her he had known that his mother would be beautiful inside and out. However, seeing her now, he couldn't help but keep on thinking that not one picture nor one of his dreams had ever done justice to her. She was beautiful and no matter how many glares she sent towards Dean, warmness and kindness emitted from her, making her even more beautiful.

"Are you sure you're okay, Sam?" John asked with concern at the way he was fixing at his wife.

"What?... Oh. Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm just, um… You are _so_ beautiful," Sam replied, causing John to frown, which went unnoticed by Sam whose eyes had gone back to stare at the young woman.

"He means that in a… A non-weird, wholesome, family kind of a way," Dean tried to diffuse the awkwardness.

"Yeah, right," Sam nervously smiled as he realized his slip-up.

John nodded slowly at him.

"We haven't seen Mary in quite some time, and, see, she's the spitting image of our mom. I mean, it's – it's…" Dean trailed off, not finding what to say.

"Eerie," Sam finished.

"So, how are you guys related?" John inquired, genuinely curious.

"You know, uh, distantly," Dean replied with a shrug.

"Oh. So you knew Mary's parents?" John asked, his voice gentler than Sam and Dean could remember ever hearing before.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah," Dean nodded before looking over at Mary who was staring at him with a hard and wary look. "Mary's dad was, uh, pretty much like a grandpa to us."

"Oh. That was tragic—that heart attack," John declared, reaching over to rest one hand on Mary's forearm. She looked at him, giving him a little smile as she rested her other hand on top of his.

"Yes, it was," Dean commented, his green eyes meeting Mary's blue eyes.

"So, uh, what are you guys doing in town, anyway?" John changed the topic, soothingly rubbing his thumb on Mary's wrist.

"Uh, business, you know," Dean vaguely replied.

"Oh, yeah? What line of work?"

"Scrap metal," Dean said at the same time Sam said, "Plumbing."

Mary abruptly stood up, "Oh, Gosh! It's almost seven. I hate to be rude, but I gotta get dinner ready."

"Maybe they could stay," John suggested, looking up at his wife.

"I'm sure they have to leave," Mary said, throwing a pointed look at Dean.

Neither Dean nor Sam could say a thing as the ringing of a phone echoed in the house.

"Uh, look, please stay. You know, it would mean a lot to me. I haven't met much of Mary's side of the family," John told Sam and Dean before getting up to go answer the phonecall in the kitchen.

Mary bit her lips together as she watched her husband go and then she turned to Sam and Dean. With a hard look and a stern tone, she half-whispered, "You have to leave. _Now_."

"Okay, just listen –" Dean began, standing up in sync with Sam.

"No, you listen," she cut him off. "Last time I saw you, a demon killed my parents. Now you waltz in here like you're family? Whatever you want – _no_. Leave me alone."

"You and John are in danger," Sam shot at her in a low and almost calm voice.

Mary's eyes snapped to him, "What are you talking about?"

"Something's coming for you," Dean declared.

"Demon?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, what, then?" She inquired, her blue eyes never looking away from the green-eyed hunter.

"It's kind of hard to explain, okay? It's – it's –" Dean started.

"An angel," Sam finished, causing Dean to give him a look.

Mary gave a sniggering laugh, "What? There's no such thing."

"I wish," Dean sighed. "But they're twice as strong as demons. And bigger dicks."

"Why would an angel want to kill us?" Mary asked, fear starting to rise inside of her.

"It's a long story, and we'll tell you the whole thing, but right now, you've got to trust us, and we gotta go. Look at my face and tell me if I'm lying to you," Dean told her, looking right into her eyes.

She watched him for a moment before looking at Sam. There was something about them that she couldn't point a finger at. Something that made her want to believe them, something that made her want to trust them, and even something that made her want to keep them with her, to protect them even. She couldn't explain those feelings, all she knew was that they were there, inside of her, and they were strong and real. She knew that she could trust these two young men with her life, and even with her husband's life.

"Okay," she eventually said. "Where do we go?"

"Out of here. We gotta move now, though," Dean stated.

"Okay. But what do I tell John?"

"Just tell him –" Dean began before cutting himself short as he looked around and noticed that John hadn't come back from his call and that there wasn't any noise around them. "John?"

They all looked towards the direction John had left earlier and then they made their way there, throwing glances around them until they were in the kitchen.

Mary instantly noticed the note written on the notepad by the phone.

 _ **Back in 15 J**_

When Sam and Dean saw it, they sighed as they realized that it was going to be even more tricky to protect both of their parents if one was missing.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Mary to figure out that her husband was at the garage he worked at. Sam, Dean and she had rushed there, only to find Anna already trying to kill John. After a fight with her, during which Sam had seen that his mother was really good at fighting with bare hands, Sam sent Anna away with the sigil made of blood that could send angels to some unknown place for a lapse of time that was enough for them to get away. Then, Sam and Dean, along with Mary's help, had convinced John to leave the town to some safer place.

Mary knew an old house that served as a hunting cabin for her family in the past. Seeing the way he had been reacting ever since she told him the truth, Mary hadn't dared developing more on what kind of hunting took place in that cabin. She couldn't believe that she had told him the truth. It had broken her heart to tell him but there had been no other choice. He wouldn't have accepted to go away if she hadn't explained to him who was that red-head who attacked him and how his wife could fight so well. When she had started telling him the truth, he had thought she was joking, but her explanation was so precise that it had made him doubt. John had hoped for Sam and Dean to say that it was just a stupid prank that they wanted to play on him with their cousin, but they hadn't said anything of such. And as Mary continued telling him that she used to hunt monsters with her parents, John had realized that it was everything but a joke. This kind of realization was hard on him. It was too much. It was too complicated. Too unreal. Too… _Unnatural_.

It had gotten him to spend a handful of minutes utterly quiet as he drove them all to that old family cabin Mary had given him the directions of. He was quiet, but his head was exploding with loud thoughts and questions of all kinds.

"Monsters," he abruptly broke the silence. "Monsters?!"

"Yes," his wife said, glancing at him from where she was sitting in the front passenger seat.

"Monsters are real," John exclaimed for what could be the tenth time after all the times he shouted these words before the silence.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how –" Mary began.

"And you fight them? All of you?" John asked, causing Dean to roll his eyes as he was annoyed to hear these questions again.

"Yeah," Sam replied from his seat behind John.

There was a short silence before John broke it again, "How long?"

Dean's eyebrows shot up on his forehead. That was a question his father hadn't asked yet. Maybe he was finally getting out of his shocked phase, he thought.

"All my life," Mary replied in a little voice. Sam looked over at her. He could only see her profile from where he was sitting, but he could see that she was trying not to show how bad it hurt to have been in this kind of life since forever. The pain could even be heard in her voice and he couldn't help but wonder if at times it could be heard in his too.

"John, just try to understand –" Mary said at the same time as Dean started to defend her as he said, "She didn't exactly have a choice –"

They were both cut off by John who shouted at them, "Shut up! All of you! Look, not another word, or so help me, I will turn this car around!"

A heavy silence fell in the car.

After a moment, Dean couldn't help but whisper a comment to his brother, "Wow. Awkward family road trip."

"No kidding," Sam scoffed.

Dean turned his head to him and his eyes caught his brother's fingers fidgeting with the rear door ashtray. He noticed that there wasn't any toy soldier stuck in there. Of course, there wouldn't be any toy soldier before a few years when Sam and Dean would get it stuck in there while playing in the car.

"So, wait, does that mean that you knew how to shoot when we did that weekend in the woods?" John asked Mary.

"Well," Mary said and then words started to get distant as Dean got lost in the memory of something that happened a few days ago.

 _"Really, Dean, it's pointless. Even that little green plastic toy soldier stuck in the Impala would be better at shooting than me!"_ Kate had sighed, turning away from the target that Dean had positioned feet away for her shooting lesson.

 _"Stop discrediting yourself,"_ Dean had told her, approaching her to put his hands on her shoulders and turn her back into facing the target. _"I'm sure you can do great with more practice."_

 _"Dean, seriously, that's a waste of time and of bullets."_

 _"It ain't. Come on, get on position and shoot,"_ he had said in a commanding tone, taking a step back. _"Matt told us that you once shot a vampire right in the head. That means you've got it in you, you just gotta let it out. So, come on, let it out!"_

 _"Let what out? That was a one-time thing_ ," she had told him, looking at him with a confused frown.

 _"Look,"_ Dean had, his voice gentle as he had advanced up to her again. _"You gotta learn how to protect yourself –"_

 _"I know how to protect myself."_

 _"With a_ _ **gun**_ _,"_ he had then finished, his eyes looking straight into hers. _"What happens if we get a werewolf case? Huh? Or any other case where you actually gotta shoot the monster?"_

 _"I'll stick to the research if that happens,"_ she had replied, feeling smart and causing him to roll his eyes.

 _"Kaitlin, I just... I_ _ **need**_ _you to know how to protect yourself with something else than your fists or a pillow,"_ he had said, seriousness wrapped in his tone and sparkling in his green eyes.

 _"Okay,"_ she had sighed, turning her attention to the target. It was a tall and quite wide board of wood on which he had drawn with a red paint spray circles of targeting. Dean's eyes had been glued on her the whole time as she had raised her hands holding the heavy gun. He had been meticulously observing the way she held the weapon and the way she fixed at the target.

 **Bang!**

 _"Ugh, I missed it,"_ she had groaned. _"Again."_

 _"It was bound to happen,"_ Dean had commented, coming to her. He had surprised her by gripping her legs and moving them. _"First, your feet weren't planted to the ground the way they were supposed to,"_ he had taken his hands off her jean-clad legs and had moved to stand in front of her _. "Second, your eyes. You gotta keep them open when you shoot. Open and_ _ **focused**_ _on the target. Nothing else matters."_ He had then stepped behind her and pressed his strong chest against her back. His left hand went on her hips to position her upper body while the other lifted her arms back up. _"Don't rush it,"_ he had whispered against her ear, his hand sliding down her hand to line it up straight towards her aim.

" _Do you really have to stand this close?"_ The brunette had asked, causing him to look down at her face and notice that her cheeks were red.

" _Are you blushing?"_ He had teasingly asked, his hand that was on her hip gently going to her warm skin just above her jeans and under her shirt.

In response, Kate had lost her cool as she pulled on the trigger and caused the gun to go off with a bang. Due to his habit of hearing that noise, Dean hadn't even flinched with surprise, but surprise sure was painted on his face when he had turned his attention to the board. He had let go of her to take a couple of steps closer to the board and it was confirmed for him that she had succeeded; she had hit a target.

" _Hey! Good job, Cherry!"_ He had exclaimed, turning to grin at her before going up to her. _"Maybe you need me to teach you everything. Not Sam nor Matt, just the legendary Dean Winchester_ ," he had smirked.

" _Yeah,"_ she had drawled out, a corner smile of amusement and embarrassment. _"Maybe if first you learned how to leave me some space…"_

" _It's obvious that you get better work done when I'm not leaving you any space_ ," he had teased, causing her cheeks to color again. _"Oh, you're blushing again."_

" _Shut up,"_ she had pouted out before handing him back his gun. She had then grabbed her jacket and her back bag from the grass. _"Come on, you said the session would be done once I get a target. I did, so let's get back to the motel. I'm starving and we still gotta see how we're gonna persuade Bobby to letting us make a Christmas dinner at his place."_

" _If you say so,"_ he had replied, taking his own stuff from the ground before following her. _"By the way, you gotta stop blushing, Kaitlin. You're my girl, now, remember?"_ Kate had stopped and turned to look up at him as he caught up with her. _"What?"_

" _Nothing,"_ she had smiled, but Dean had known straight away that he had done something that earned him some points, he just had no idea what it was. All he had known was that he was still not immune to her contagious smile.

* * *

A couple of hours later, John pulled up at a house that actually looked nothing like a place in which hunters met each other like at Bobby's house or at one of the many cabins Rufus and Bobby had, scattered all over the country. As a matter of fact, it looked like a normal house that used to belong to a normal family but was abandoned a few years ago. Sam and Dean hadn't said anything but they could imagine all the meet-ups of hunters, the long days of research and the long nights of sharpening weapons and cleaning guns.

Mary led the way inside, turning on a light switch and surprising the three men that such a worn-down house still had electricity.

"The place has been in the family for years," she simply explained, flipping up a round carpet to reveal a symbol painted on the floor that was familiar to Sam and Dean but not to John. "Devil's trap. Pure iron fixtures, of course," she continued, walking in the house before stopping in an archway that led to an ill-maintained kitchen. She switched on the light of the kitchen and then turned around, looking over at the two hunters. "Um, there should be salt and holy water in the pantry, knives, guns."

"All that stuff will do is piss it off," Sam told her.

"So, what will kill it? Or slow it down, at least?" She asked, not noticing the way John watched their interaction.

"Not much," Sam stated, causing her to scoff.

"Great."

"He said ' _not much'_ , not _nothing_ ," Dean declared, walking into the kitchen where there was a table in the middle. "We packed."

Mary watched him as he thumped his duffel bag down on the table and rummaged in it while Sam approached them. John stared at them for a brief moment before he hesitantly walked a few steps closer to where they were all standing, trying to catch a glimpse at what Dean was getting out of his bag.

"If we put this up and she comes close," Dean said, showing Mary a paper on which the angel-banishing sigil was drawn. "We beam her right off the starship."

"Okay," Mary nodded.

"And, _this_ is holy oil," Sam told her, holding up a jar. "It's kind of like a – like a devil's trap for angels."

"And, what about…" Mary trailed off, pointing at the water-gun in the bag.

"Uh," Dean huffed, a corner smile on his lips. "It's a gun that you can fill with water, only now it's filled with holy oil. It's just easier to draw an angel trap with this than with a heavy jar."

Mary glanced up at him and then at Sam to see that he was staring at the dirty-blonde hunter with an almost deep expression.

"Alright," she said, taking the water-gun. "And, how that angel trap works?"

"I'll… I'll show you," Sam said, pulling his attention off Dean to look down at her. "Come on," he said, taking one jar before walking out of the kitchen.

Mary started to follow him before she turned her head to look at her husband. It broke her heart when he avoided her gaze. She knew it was hard on him, but his reaction was hard on her as well. She had answered to his questions on their drive down to this place. She had apologized a thousand times for keeping this secret. She had explained to him the reasons of her hiding such a thing. He had seemed to understand enough. He had seemed to accept her reasons and above all he had seemed ready to carry on with her.

Since always, he had been more than the love of her life, more than her soul-mate, he had been her _rock_. The one and only rock that got her to keep going. He had saved her from nightmarish life that he wasn't even aware of. Without even knowing it, he had given her a strength to never look back at the hunter life, no matter the guilt that ate her up on the inside whenever she read a terrible mysterious death in the newspapers.

However, now that he avoided her gaze, she was afraid that this rock of hers was going to leave her. She was afraid that he was going to stop being her rock. She was afraid of losing him.

"Mary?" Sam called.

"I'm coming," she replied, before turning her head to him. "I'm coming," she repeated in a whisper, walking up to the tall man who was standing in what used to be the study room.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked her once she was standing in front of him.

"Yeah. I'm great. The life I ran away from just caught me back," she sarcastically replied.

"I'm sorry," Sam half-murmured, his eyes full of a sadness that caused her to frown in confusion.

She looked down at the water-gun in her hands, not knowing what to say in response to his kind and sincere words. She decided that nothing could be said, and so she pulled herself together with a clearing of throat and asked, "So, what do these angel traps look like?"

"It's simple," he declared and then he showed her. He drew a circle with the water-gun and handed it back to her so that she could keep on drawing with it while he drew circles with the jar of holy oil.

Sam and Mary spent a few minutes drawing those circles at different places of the house, making sure to protect the house as well as they could. Sam had explained to her that they would have to set the oil in fire to trap the angel that would be inside the circle. Meanwhile, Dean had shown John how to draw the sigil that could send angels away and then, just like Sam and Mary, they were off to drawing it at every strategic places.

When Mary finished drawing a circle, she gazed over at Sam who was drawing another one a couple of feet away from her.

"It's a shame there's no better protection against them," she commented.

"There is. But, we haven't been smart enough to take the one person who knows the sigils to draw to prevent angels from coming inside a place."

"We could still try and get a hold of that person. There's a phone box about fifteen minutes away from here."

"I doubt it will help us get a hold of her," he replied, standing up once he finished tracing the circle. "Anyways, I think we're good here."

"So –" Mary started to say before stopping herself when she saw John passing by them. She looked at him, but he didn't spare her one glance. Sam noticed the expression on her face as her blue eyes followed John until he was out of sight, and it saddened him. He was ready to tell her a few comforting words when she started to speak, "Everything is gonna change now that he knows. I've spent so many years hiding this side of me, this story of mine, so that he wouldn't get hurt… So that we could be happy." She turned to look at Sam and shook her head, "You wouldn't understand."

"Actually, I do," he replied and she furrowed her brow. "I… I grew up in the hunter life, too. And, one day, I wanted to get away from it. I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to have a normal life. I wanted it so badly that I ran away from my family. And… That's when I met her…" His bright hazel eyes looked down at the water-gun in Mary's hands, causing her to glance down at it.

"Water-gun girl?" She inquired in a little voice.

"No. Water-gun girl is actually Dean's girl," he let out a short breathy chuckle and then paused. "The girl I met when I ran away, her name was Jessica. She was beautiful, kind, funny and just amazing, and above all, she had nothing to do with the hunter world. She was always there for me when I'd scream at night because of a nightmare, she was always there to cheer me up and to give me strength." Mary remained silent as she related to his words. "I was going to propose when…" Sam trailed off, the overwhelming emotion making it hard for him to continue without having a lump forming in the throat. "She got killed by a demon before I could even propose to her."

"I'm so sorry," Mary had murmured, honesty of her words painted on her face.

"I had spent years keeping secret a whole part of my life, lying to her about my past, my childhood, about who I really am. I had spent years keeping all these things from her because I wanted us to be happy… So, yeah, I understand."

"There's something you're wrong about," Mary said and Sam furrowed his brow at her. "Being a hunter isn't what you really are. It's a part of you, but it's not you. Hunters are not just hunters, and trust me when I tell you that you are much more than just a hunter. Much more and much better."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see it in you," she sweetly replied, a warm smile on her lips.

* * *

A short while later, Sam went to see how John was doing with the sigils while Mary went to the living room. She put the water-gun on the kitchen table, right next to Dean's bag and went to look at the circle of holy oil she had just drawn a few feet from the front door. Thoughts were swirling in her head, always faster and more numerous. She rubbed her eyelids and let out a soft sigh when she heard some noise coming from behind her. She turned around and found Dean standing at the table. It was obvious that he didn't see her as he was staring at the plastic water-gun. She observed him for a while, her head tilting to the side at the expression painted on his face.

 _Peace_.

She could remember well enough his last visit to say that there was none of that peace in his features back then. There had been some kind of hardness in his features back then. Some kind of hardness mixed with an indescribable softness whenever he looked at her. There had been fear, too. A profound fear that was trying to hide deep inside of him where something broken was already begging to be fixed. The truth was that back then, he had looked almost as though he had come back from a terrible war where he would have been imprisoned and tortured.

However, right now, it was different.

He looked different. He looked like he had found something that soothed him, that brought him some peace. He looked as though he had found something that was helping him fix that broken thing inside of him.

It took Mary just one glance to the object in his hands to put two and two together.

"What was her name?" She asked, standing up from where she was crouched next to the circle of holy oil.

"Mmh?" Dean looked up, taking in the fact that he wasn't alone in the room. He looked over at Mary and frowned, "Who?"

"The water-gun girl," Mary replied, the twitch of a smile on her lips as she nodded towards the plastic gun. Dean glanced down at it and then put it back in his bag as she quietly watched him.

"How did you know?"

"Well, it's not that hard to guess when a young man is thinking about a girl," she stated. "Besides, Sam told me that she was your girl… So, what's her name?"

Dean stared at her for a moment and then looked down at his shoes. "Kaitlin." He then lifted his green gaze up to meet Mary's blue one.

"Kaitlin," Mary repeated as though studying the name as it rolled out her mouth. "Nice name," she commented while Dean just stared at her. "Is she a nice person?"

"Yeah," Dean replied, a weird feeling washing over him at the realization that he was having this kind of conversation with her; his mother. "A little too nice actually," he added with a corner smile.

"Well, that's good. Nice hunters can get a bit rare out there," Mary declared.

"No, she's not – " Dean began before cutting himself short. He licked his lips and looked down at the angel trap next to Mary. It instantly reminded him of the time when the brunette had traced one to trap Gabriel months ago. He looked away from it and continued in a half-whisper, "She's not a hunter."

"Isn't she?" Mary frowned, a bit puzzled. Her eyes travelled all over his freckled face until she was hit by realization. "Or maybe it's you who don't want to think of her as such?"

Dean looked up and their eyes immediately met. He couldn't help wondering if she was just that good at reading people or if it was what he had heard about, a _mother thing_. However, considering that she was technically not his mother yet, it had to be the first guess.

"It's complicated," he told her, sounding a little vulnerable, which didn't go unnoticed by the young woman.

She watched him for a moment, aware of his pain, sorrow, confusion and fear, but also aware of the new peacefulness emitting from him.

"Okay. I have to say, though. She seems to be good for you," she gave a gentle smile and Dean was speechless. She glanced down at the angel trap that reminded her of the more important question she had been wanted to ask him for hours now. "Anyways, you said you'd explain everything when we had a minute. We have a minute. So, tell me, why does an angel want me dead?"

Dean was a bit surprised that she had changed the topic of conversation, but he couldn't say that he wasn't relieved about it either.

"'Cause they're dicks," he told her with a smug smile, causing Mary to laugh.

"Not good enough," she shook her head. "I didn't even know they existed, and now I'm a target?"

"It's complicated; _really_ complicated."

"Fine," she replied, taking one step towards him and opening her arms. "All ears."

"You're just gonna have to trust me, okay?" Dean told her, hoping that it would be enough.

"I've been trusting you _all day_."

"It's kinda hard to believe..."

"Alright, then. I'm walking out the door," she declared, turning away, ready to walk out the frontdoor if she didn't get any answer.

"I'm your son," Dean blurted out from his spot.

Mary froze where she was and then turned to look at him. A mixture of confusion, uncertainty of having heard well, and fear was all over her face.

"What?"

"I'm your son," Dean repeated, taking two steps towards her. "Sorry. I don't know how else to say it. We're from the year 2010. An angel zapped us back here. Not the one that attacked you; friendlier."

"You can't expect me to believe that."

"Our names are Dean and Sam Winchester. We're named after your parents. When I would get sick, you would make me tomato-rice soup, because that's what your mom made you," he told her, taking another step towards the silent and frozen woman whose eyes were glued to him. "And instead of a lullaby, you would sing _'Hey Jude'_ , 'cause that's your favorite Beatles song."

Mary's eyes welled with unstoppable tears.

"I... I don't believe it. _No_ ," she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," Dean told her even though it deeply hurt him to see her like that. But, there was no taking back his words. There was no going back at all. He still had to warn her about Azazel, and warn her good this time so that she truly got saved in November 1983.

"I raised my kids to be hunters?" She asked, her voice broken with the shock and horrification of what Dean was telling her.

"No. No, you didn't," Dean quickly tried to reassure her. He wished he could take her in his arms and hug her pain away but his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground now.

"How could I do that to you?"

"You didn't do it," Dean told her. "Because you're dead."

"What?" She gasped with widened eyes. "What happened?"

"Yellow-eyed demon. He killed you, and John became a hunter to get revenge. He raised us in this life," he said and then paused. He had to warn her. He wanted to save her. He _needed_ to save her. "Listen to me. A demon comes into Sam's nursery exactly six months after he's born. November 2nd, 1983. _Remember_ that date. And whatever you do, do not go in there. You wake up that morning and you take Sam and you run."

"That's not good enough, Dean," Sam said, stepping in the room to stand in the doorway. Dean and Mary turned their heads at him. "Wherever she goes, the demon's gonna find her. Find _me_."

"Well, then what?" Dean asked, sounding desperate to figure out a way out of this tragic path yet to come.

"She can leave Dad; that's what," he said before turning his green hazel gaze towards the young woman. "You got to leave John."

"What?" Mary breathed out, completely stunned by their suggestion.

"When this is all over, walk away, and never look back," Sam told her.

"So we're never born," Dean said more to himself than anyone else, but they still heard him well.

"So, _many_ things will never happen," Sam stated, gazing over at his brother. Dean looked back at him. The intensity in his big brother's eyes made Sam understand that Dean was realizing what was included in the many things that would never happen if their birth came to never happen.

"You're not serious," Mary let out. "I-I can't. You're saying that you're my children, and now you're saying –"

"You have no other choice," Sam told her.

"No, there's gotta be another way to… You can't ask me _that_ ," she replied before glancing at Dean who was visibly pondering. "You…" She trailed off, looking at Sam. "You're asking me t-to kill my own children."

"No," Dean said, coming back into the conversation. "Look, there's a big difference between dying and never being born. And trust me, we're okay with it, I promise you that."

"Okay, well, I'm not," she replied firmly.

"Listen, you think you can have that normal life that you want so bad, but you can't," Sam said, looking sad and regretful to tell her that. "I'm sorry. It's all gonna go rotten. You are gonna die, and your children will be… Cursed."

"There… There has to be a way…"

"No, _this_ is the way," Sam insisted. "Leave John."

"I can't."

"This is bigger than us," Sam tried to make her understand. "There are so many more lives at stake –"

"You don't understand," she cut him off. "I _can't._ " She paused and then turned to look at Dean, "It's too late. I'm... I'm pregnant."

Taken aback, Sam and Dean stared at her with alarmed expressions. Dean moved his gaze down to Mary's belly as he realized that he was in there, or at least a fetus version of himself.

"I…" Dean began, not knowing what to say nor even knowing if he had to say something.

"Hey, we got a problem!" John shouted as he ran into the room. They all turned to him. "Those blood things, the sigils – they're gone."

"Gone as in..." Sam started.

"I drew one on the back of the door. I turned around. And when I looked back again, it was a smudge," John explained and Dean immediately went to see the closest sigil he had drawn.

"He's right," Dean called as Mary bent down to check the circle she had last drawn, only to find a dry floor.

"There's no more holy oil," she looked up at them.

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker in the room. Sam pulled an angel blade out of his jacket inside pocket and then a high-pitched noise started to echo louder and louder until it was unbearable for their ears. They all covered their ears as the windows and lightbulbs exploded, projecting shattered glass everywhere and plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

Once the piercing noise was over, the backdoor in the kitchen flew open and a dark-skinned man in a suit walked in, almost strolling.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded in a growl.

"I'm Uriel."

"Oh, come on," Dean groaned, backing away.

"Go," Sam rushed to John and Mary, ready to let them run away while he and Dean would take care of the angel that had come. However, when they were close to the front door, they saw Anna standing at the end of the staircase.

Sam and Dean looked back and forth at the two angels. They were trapped like rats.

"Here goes nothin'," Dean commented to Sam and then he launched himself towards Uriel.

He tried to fight against him while Sam went after Anna, but both of the Winchester brothers were having a hard time. The angels were way stronger than they were. John tried to help Sam by taking the knife the latter had dropped, but the red-haired angel was fast to stop him. With no hesitation, she threw him through the wall into the back yard, causing Mary to shout out her husband's name. While Dean was getting kicked and punched at by Uriel in the kitchen Anna was slowly advancing towards the blonde woman. However, Sam saw her and he jumped in front of his mother. Anna turned around, ripped a fixture from the wall and turned back to Sam who was going for the angel blade on the floor. She stabbed him before he could even touch it with the tip of his fingers.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted from where he was getting strangled by Uriel. Sam slumped to the floor, blood leaving his mouth as his eyes slowly closed. "Sam!"

Anna didn't even care about Dean's screams as she stared at Sam's still and dead body. She then moved her head to the right and fixed at Mary. She made two steps towards her and the blonde made two steps back.

"I'm really sorry," Anna told her.

"Anna," a voice said behind the angel.

The red-head spun around and immediately recognized the archangel that was wearing John Winchester. "Michael."

Mary stared at John, without blinking once. She watched as he approached the red-haired angel and put a hand on her shoulder. There was no expression on his face. Nothing at all, and it scared her. She was even more scared when she saw him burst the red-haired angel into flames. The scream that left the angel was almost as piercing as the sound before their arrival. Mary's blue eyes got even wider when the angel turned into ashes that crumbled down to the floor. She then looked up and met her husband's eyes, only it wasn't him.

He looked back, over to the kitchen where Uriel had let go of Dean to advance towards him.

"Michael. I didn't know."

"Goodbye, Uriel," Michael simply said, snapping his fingers and thus making Uriel disappear.

"What did you do to John?" Mary asked, her voice stronger than she had expected it to be.

"John is fine," he replied, approaching her.

"Who," she began before correcting herself. " _What_ are you?"

"Shh..." He whispered and then he touched her head. In an instant, Mary fell to ground, unconscious. He then turned to Dean who was slowly making his way up to the doorway, one hand clinging onto his sore and beaten stomach and his eyes focused on his little brother. "Well, I'd say this conversation is long overdue, wouldn't you?"

Dean looked at the archangel, pointing at his little brother, "Fix him."

"First, we talk," Michael said, glancing at Sam's body. "Then I fix your darling little Sammy."

Dean eyed him, suspicious like he always was when it came to angels that didn't wear trench-coat and a blue tie.

"How'd you get in my dad, anyway?"

"I told him I could save his wife, and he said yes," Michael simply explained.

"I guess they oversold me being your one and only vessel."

"You're my _true_ vessel but not my only one."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's a bloodline."

"A bloodline?"

"Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It's in your blood, your father's blood, your family's blood."

"Awesome. Six degrees of Heaven Bacon," Dean commented with sarcasm. "What do you want with me?"

"You really don't know the answer to that?"

"Well, you know I ain't gonna say yes, so why are you here? What do you want with me?!"

Michael stared at Dean, as though scanning him, and then, much for Dean's confusion, he smiled. He could see why Dean Winchester had been chosen to be his true vessel among all these billions of humans.

With a little smile on his lips, he stepped towards the hunter, "I just want you to understand what you and I have to do."

"Oh, I get it. You got beef with your brother. Well, get some therapy, pal. Don't take it out on my planet!" Dean shouted at him.

"You're wrong. Lucifer defied our father, and he betrayed me. But still..." He shook his head. "I don't want this any more than you would want to kill Sam." Dean was a bit surprised by this answer, but he didn't let it show. The archangel turned and started to walk towards Sam's body as Dean watched him. "You know, my brother, I practically raised him. I took care of him in a way most people could never understand, and I still love him." He turned back to Dean. "But, I am going to kill him because it is right and I have to."

"Oh, because God says so?"

"Yes. From the beginning, He knew this was how it was going to end," Michael informed him.

"And, you're just gonna do whatever God says," Dean remarked.

"Yes, because I am a good son."

"Okay, well, trust me, pal," Dean smirked. "Take it from someone who knows: that is a dead-end street."

"And you think you know better than my father?" Michael questioned with a little amused smile as he approached Dean. "One unimportant little man. What makes you think you get to choose?"

"Because I gotta believe that I can choose what I do with my… _unimportant little_ life," Dean replied and Michael had to admire again the strength of determination and conviction that this human had in him.

"You're wrong. You know how I know?" Michael said, turning away and then back. "Think of a million random acts of chance that let John and Mary be born, to meet, to fall in love, to have the two of you. Think of the million random choices that you make, and yet how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because it's not random. It's not chance. It's a plan that is playing itself out perfectly. Free will's an illusion, Dean. That's why you're going to say yes."

"Then, how come your winged sisters and brothers think of a plan B?" Dean smirked, an eyebrow arched up.

"You mean your precious Kaitlin? What makes you think that she is a plan B and not part of the plan A?" Michael asked in return, his own smirk causing Dean's to fall off his face.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, his voice becoming even rougher all of sudden.

"In a war, weapons are important, but they are even more important and useful after; to maintain peace."

"You have no right to do that; she's not even from this world!"

"And, that's exactly why she is useful. She is the only one who can carry the Light and thus become the Light."

"Since when is it in God's plans?"

"Haven't you heard? God's gone," Michael replied and Dean swallowed down. "God's gone, but we still have a few things to get done. And, it can only, truly begin when you say 'yes'. And, that's going to happen, because as I said, free will's an illusion, Dean. You _are_ going to say 'yes'. No matter what, you are going to become my vessel because it is your destiny; it has always been."

Dean looked down, remembering what Castiel had told him when he had tried to warn his mother about November 2nd the first time he went back in time.

" _All roads lead to the same direction."_

"Oh, buck it up," Michael exclaimed, causing Dean to lift his gaze back to him. "It could be worse. You know, unlike my brothers, I won't leave you a drooling mess when I'm done wearing you."

"Well, what about my dad?" Dean managed to say.

"Better than new," Michael promised. "In fact, I'm gonna do your mom and your dad a favor."

"What?"

"Scrub their minds. They won't remember me or you."

"You can't do that!"

"I'm just giving your mother what she wants. She can go back to her husband, her family –"

"She's gonna walk right into that nursery!"

"Obviously," Michael replied, walking towards Sam. "And you always knew that was going to play out one way or another." He turned back to Dean and with the ghost of a smirk he said, "You can't fight City Hall."

Dean remained speechless. He looked at him, that archangel in his father's body, and then looked over, behind his shoulders, where his mother was lying unconscious on the floor. He had never felt more powerless than now. He could try and do everything and anything, he wouldn't be able to save his mother.

His attention was caught by Michael as the latter bent down to press two fingers to the young man's forehead. Sam vanished, the pipe that Anna had stabbed him with, clanked to the floor. Dean stared at the empty place for a couple of seconds before he looked at Michael who stood up and walked up to him.

"He's home. Safe and sound. With your dear Kaitlin. Both waiting impatiently for you to come back," he said and Dean just stared at him. "Your turn. I'll see you soon, Dean." He then touched Dean's forehead, sending him back to his time.

* * *

 _ **December, 2009.**_

Kate was standing in the middle of the motel room, her eyes closed and her heartbeats fast. Her breath was inexistent as she waited for her entire self to disappear. It was what was supposed to happen, what was going to happen. She had watched _'Back to the future'_ enough time to know that Sam and Dean changing the past would affect her in some ways.

That was why she was so perplexed when half a minute passed and nothing happened. She cracked one eye open and looked around. She was still in Sam and Dean's motel room. She opened her other eye and frowned at the oddness of the situation. It didn't make any sense. She looked down at her hands, expecting them to be fading away like Marty Mcfly's in the time travel trilogy, but there was nothing.

She was supposed to vanish away. She was supposed to forget about the Winchesters, about Bobby, Matt and all the people of this world. Her memories of these people were supposed to disappear along with her. She was supposed to find herself back in her universe. All that happened this past year or so was supposed to never have happened.

So, why was she still here? Why was she still in Sam and Dean's motel room? Why?

Suddenly, the younger Winchester brother appeared on the floor, lying unconscious on his left side.

"Sam!" She hurried to him, falling on her knees next to him and pushing his head back, only to be horrified by the trace of dripping blood on his chin. "Oh no... Sam, wake up! Come on!" Right then the young man started to groan as he slowly blinked his eyes open. "Thank God! Are you okay?"

The young man looked up at the brunette, puzzlement written all over his dimpled face. Then he quickly put his hands on his stomach, where he had been stabbed. There was nothing aside from his blood spread around the ripped part of his shirt.

With eyebrows knit together, he stood up with the brunette helping him even though he didn't really need it. Once he was standing on his feet, she repeated her question, "Are you okay? Why are you covered with blood?"

He looked down at her and then at her hand on his forearm while the other one was on his back, giving him some support she thought he needed. He reached up to touch his chin and saw the blood on his fingertips. He frowned at it and then wiped it with the back of his sleeve.

"I'm fine," he reassured her. "It's my blood."

"Y-your blood?" She stuttered, her eyes round.

"Yeah, um, Anna stabbed me," he informed, causing her eyes to go even wider before he continued casually, "I think she might have killed me..."

"What?!"

"Where's Dean?" He asked, taking notice of his brother's absence in the room.

"What do you mean 'where's Dean'? He just left with you and Cas, like two minutes ago," Kate replied, both confused and panicked that Sam wouldn't know where Dean was.

"He must still be back there," Sam thought out loud before going over to the table on which there still was all the stuff they had used to locate Anna.

"Wait, what? So, Dean and Cas are stuck in the past?" Kate asked, turning around to look at the tall man. "How come you got back here and they didn't?"

"I don't know," Sam turned to look at her. "But, they'll be back. Whoever saved me and sent me back here is gonna get them back here, too."

Kate stared at him as he took his jacket off, threw it on one of the queen beds and looked down at his ruined shirt.

The fact that she was still here and that Sam was here was enough for the young woman to understand what it meant. Sam and Dean hadn't succeeded on saving their mother from Azazel. She could only imagine the pain and sorrow filling the young man standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she told him and he looked at her with a questioning look. "I'm sorry you're back here. To this mad world full of monsters..." There were genuine regrets in her voice; regrets that he could see in her eyes, too.

Right then, Dean appeared in the room, his back facing them.

"Dean!" Kate exclaimed and he turned around, his green gaze landing on the brunette first before he saw Sam.

The deep pain that was filling Dean from his conversation with Michael seemed to be replaced with relief as he saw his little brother standing well and alive. Apparently Michael had healed them both from the injuries they had gotten in their fights with Anna and Uriel.

"What happened? Are you okay? What about mom and dad?" Sam questioned, a concerned look on his face as he rushed towards him.

"Michael came and he took care of them. Sent them back home with no memories of us. He's also the one who sent you and me back here," Dean briefly explained, his voice little and sad, which emphasized the pained and defeated expression on his face.

"Michael as in the archangel?" Sam inquired while Kate watched them without saying a word.

"Yeah," Dean replied, walking over to the bed where Sam's jacket was. He sat at the edge and looked down at he took off the kerchief that was around his hand, only to see that the cut he had done to get some blood to draw the sigils was gone.

"What happened, Dean?" Sam half-whispered.

The dirty-blonde hunter opened his mouth when Castiel suddenly appeared next to the other bed. The trench-coated angel was clearly not steady on his feet so Sam and Kate rushed to grab him by his arms before he stumbled down.

"You made it," Sam stated as they laid their angel friend down.

"I... I did?" Castiel said, looking up at the two humans surrounding him. Dean stood up and Castiel moved his blue eyes to him. "Oh… I guess I did... I'm very surprised." He then fell unconscious.

Kate's cellphone beeped right then. She frowned as she took it out, only to see that she had a text message. "It's Matt. He needs me to give him some information about a creature... But, I'm sure it can wait –"

"Go," Sam told her and she looked up at him, unsure of leaving them after a trip back in time that could have been two months of hell for all she knew. "Cas isn't gonna wake up anytime soon and if he does, we'll take care of him." She threw a glance at Dean. There was a frown on his face as he stared at the angel. She bit on her bottom lip, glanced up at Sam who slightly nodded at her to just go and she eventually gave up. She left for her room where her bag with her notebook about monsters was.

When the door clicked closed behind her, Dean waited for a few seconds of silence to pass and then he commented, "Well... This is it."

"This is what?" Sam inquired, looking over at his brother who was standing on the other side of the bed.

"Team Free Will," Dean stated. "One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, Mr. Comatose over there, and one impossible water-gun girl from another dimension. It's awesome."

"It's not funny," Sam commented. He then had a slight frown as he couldn't help but wonder if Mary had a conversation about _water-gun_ girl with Dean.

"I'm not laughing. And I could really use a drink right now," Dean just said, bringing up his hand to press his fingertips on his eyelids.

Sam watched him and then asked, "What did Michael tell you?"

Dean slid his hand down to his chin and sighed. He looked at his brother for a while and then he told him. In a few words he told him everything. From him being Michael's true vessel and the bloodline stretching out since Cain and Abel, to the unstoppable fate of John and Mary meeting and falling in love. Of course, he also told him about how Michael was sure Dean would say 'yes' sooner or later. Dean told Sam everything, but he didn't say anything about Kate and the Weapon. He didn't exactly know why but he didn't want to talk about this; not yet.

"They all say we'll say yes," Sam remarked from where he was sitting at the edge of the bed on which Castiel was laying, knocked out.

"I know. It's getting annoying," Dean said walking towards the couch.

"What if they're right?"

"They're not," Dean declared, turning to him.

"I mean, why, why would we, either of us? But... I've been weak before."

"Sam –" Dean began.

"Michael got Dad to say 'yes'," Sam interrupted him, reminding him of something undeniable.

"That was different," Dean told him. "Anna was about to kill Mom."

"And if you could save Mom...What would you say?" Sam countered and Dean looked away, only to get his gaze to land on of Kate's notebook on the messy table.

Sam's voice echoed in the back of Dean's head.

" _Dean, we gotta talk before you tell them about Azazel."_

And another moment flashed back in Dean's head.

" _So,_ _ **many things**_ _will never happen."_

After a short moment of thinking, Dean asked, "How long did you have it figured out?"

"Have what figured out?"

"What changing Mom's fate would do... To us, to them and to... To _everyone_ we know."

"I already knew it before we went back in time," Sam replied with a gentle tone. "But I realized the importance of these consequences when we got in front of mom and dad's house. I realized at that moment that all the people we've saved, all the people we've met, they would be gone... One way or another, if we warned mom."

"So why you didn't stop me when I told her the truth in the cabin?"

"Because when she opened her frontdoor, when I saw her, I just... I couldn't..." Sam trailed off, Mary's face warm and soft flashing before his eyes. He licked his lips and swallowed down. "You figured it out when we were in the cabin, didn't you? When we were telling her to leave John and run away."

Dean looked at the notebook, "Yeah..."

"But you still kept on telling her to run away, you kept on trying to set things right... Why?"

Dean returned his gaze towards Sam, "Because I wasn't seeing the big picture anymore, Sammy. I wasn't trying to set things right anymore. Because… Saving mom didn't mean 'setting things right'. It didn't mean that," he shook his head. "Saving mom meant _saving mom_."

* * *

When Kate finished her call with Matt, she didn't hurry back to Sam and Dean's room. She thought that they would need some time alone. Some time alone to talk about what happened and what didn't happen. More likely some time to reflect on how they didn't set things right. It pained Kate that they hadn't succeeded on saving their mother. She couldn't help wondering what had prevented them from saving her.

" _Mary Winchester has to die on November 2_ _nd_ _, 1983. This is a fixed point in Time. She has to die and it can't be changed,"_ Chronos had told her after he had brought her back from her journey with the blonde woman.

But, Kate was certain that Sam and Dean wouldn't have anything to stop them, especially since Chronos had run away.

" _You are from a universe that created itself. There are thousands of universes like yours, but your universe is one of the very few that after its creation, grew by itself. And, that means that the concept of destiny doesn't exist in your universe. On the other hand, the universe you're standing in, does follow a specific patter. A pattern that is full of destinies that can't be changed. Mary Winchester's destiny is one of them."_

Kate was upset to realize that Chronos had been right on that point. That coward who ran away instead of sticking to fight along with them to stop the Apocalypse. That coward who had given her an exit to this world for her and one person as though it was an option to leave with one person and leave everyone else behind. She had been having many nightmares about it lately. All her memories stirred together every night to give her horrible nightmares. Nightmares that made her hesitant to even go to sleep the next night. Nightmares that even made her feel guilty about not being able to be more helpful and useful. The weight of having some of the essence of the Guardians power and not being able to tell anyone about it, was getting heavier every day. However, she knew that she couldn't say a word about it. Just like she couldn't tell Castiel what Chronos said about God. She couldn't take away the glimpse of hope that they all had.

Two knocks on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked over at the door and then down at her watch. She had left Sam and Dean's room a little over twenty minutes now. She wasn't sure that twenty minutes was enough for them to talk about what they had just lived.

Three other knocks made her take a deep breath and stand up from the king-size bed. She stepped over her duffle bag laying on the floor as she made her way up to the door.

She swung it open and was quite surprised to see Dean standing there. For some reason, she had expected Sam to come, not him; not after the way he had looked when coming back. A little smile was playing on his lips, but Kate knew Dean well enough to recognize it as being a forced smile to hide how he truly felt. Besides, his eyes never lied. His eyes told her how depressed and defeated he felt. His eyes told her how much he needed her to soothe him.

"Hey," he said and the tone of his voice heartbreakingly confirmed all his eyes had told her.

"Hey," she softly replied, her hand still on the door's handle.

"I just… I thought I'd give you this back," he lifted up the ceramic jar that he was holding. "All our stuff came back in the middle of the room." She took the jar and looked down at it as she realized it was remarkably lighter than it used to be. "It's empty. I suppose Michael didn't want to give us back the oil that could fry him."

Kate roamed her brown eyes over his face for a moment and then she stepped back, "Come on in." Dean walked in, a bit slower than usual, as though it was hard for him to make those steps. She watched him and then closed the door.

"Huh. I thought you had the room angel-proofed with sigils on the walls," he remarked once he was standing next to the bed, in the middle of the room.

"I lied," she admitted, putting the jar on the little table next to the door. "Because if not, then you wouldn't have left."

Dean turned to look at her as he remembered the way she had kissed him before Castiel teleported Sam and him to the past.

"So, that's what it was about. That kiss and that 'thank you'," Dean declared in a low voice. "You thought it was the end."

"I thought it was going to be a _new beginning_ ; a _better_ beginning," she corrected and his gaze travelled all over her, from the top of her curly brown hair to her shoes-less feet. "I'm sorry, you know? That you got back here…" Dean's eyes shot up to meet hers. Her words rang with profound sincerity. As he looked at her, he was hit by a sudden realization. "You… You wanna talk about it?"

Dean didn't say anything. He just stared at her as he thought about how okay she had been with them going back to the past and changing everything. She had been okay with that even though it meant her never meeting them and possibly her never ever coming in this universe. Dean knew for a fact that this universe meant a lot for Kate. This universe had helped her overcome most of her inner demons and it had made her realize that she wasn't alone. Still, she had been okay to sacrifice it all so that he and Sam could get the normal, apple-pie life she constantly claimed they deserved.

He couldn't help the memory that flashed before his eyes.

" _You know, I could have stayed back in my universe. I didn't have to send myself here. I could have changed my fate and just stay there, but I didn't. Not because I enjoy trying to survive from all kind of monsters, nor because I love being helpful and feeling useful enough. But, because of_ _ **you**_ _. I… I chose to send myself to you. I chose you, Dean…."_

"Dean?" Kate's soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts for him to realize that she was standing right in front of him, one hand gently cupping his cheek.

He looked right into her sparkling brown eyes and then, without thinking twice, he leaned down to press his lips onto hers in a strong and almost demanding kiss. Kate wasn't surprised for long as she quickly kissed him back, her hand caressing his slightly stubbly cheek while her other hand went up to grab onto the lapels of his jacket. Dean's arms wrapped around her body, pulling her flush against him, which earned him a muffled gasp from the brunette. His hands started to wander under her shirt, and then his calloused fingers touched her warm and soft skin as they went under her tank top. She broke the kiss and they both opened their eyes to look at each other. She saw lust in his green eyes, but what truly shone in his emerald eyes was his need of comfort.

"Sorry," Dean began, pulling his hands off her and looking away as he went to step back as it came to him that he had more than likely crossed a line.

"Shh," Kate gently murmured, her hand sliding to his chin to make him look at her.

The soft yet intensive look she gave him got him completely under her spell. She slowly brought her hands to his chest and then she pushed his jacket off him until it dropped in a quiet thump on the floor. She then went on her tip-toes and kissed him. It was a gentler kiss than the previous one. The tenderness of it immediately brought Dean waves of a nice calm. It wasn't long before he felt Kate's hands take his and was almost surprised when she positioned his large hand back on her waist, under her clothes. He wrapped his fingers around her flesh, adoring the little love handles that he found. He pulled back to take a breath for a second and then kissed her again with more passion.

Somehow he didn't notice that they were backing until he felt the back of his knees gently banging against the bed. One second later, he fell sitting on the bed, his hands dragging Kate with him. Naturally and without breaking the kiss, she straddled him, her hands gripping at his shirt above his shoulders. His hands started to roam up and then when he found the buttons he started to unbutton them. He was slow and gentle even though he was desperate to touch all of her skin that he had never touched nor seen before.

He was slow and gentle because he wanted this moment to last as long as possible.

He wanted this moment to last as long as possible because it was devoid of all the pain and misery that he had when he came back.

And, that was all because of _her_.

His girl.

His impossible water-gun girl from another universe.

His only hope left that free will wasn't an illusion.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I guess that you are tired of reading my thousand apologies about me updating late, so I'm not gonna bore you with all that this time. I just hope that you are still enjoying this story because I have to admit I'm struggling to write it lately...**

 **Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone still reading it and leaving such nice reviews. THANK YOU!**

 **Fun fact: I have seven different versions of Kate and Dean's finale scene! I really wanted their first time doing the horizontal tango to happen after Dean's return from the past, but I was a bit hesitant as to how make it happen since Dean feels completely depressed after his talk with Michael. I decided to go with this one because it was the one showing the most how much comfort Dean needed and how much Kate was willing to give him.**

 **Also, I hope you guys are not mad at me when I leave out some huge parts of the episodes I re-write. I usually do that because I want to use these parts for future flashbacks. But, also sometimes I decide to not re-write every single scenes of the episode and end up writing a paragraph summing up these scenes because I assume that you know/remember the episodes well enough and that you aren't here to read a whole episode (I mean you could totally just watch the episode instead!) so yeah that's why I do that. I hope it doesn't make the story less enjoyable, but if it does please tell me and I will try and change it in the future!**

 **If you could leave me a little feedback that would be awesome because I truly like knowing what you enjoyed, liked or disliked! Also that would give me some nice boost for the next chapter.**

 **PS: I'm sorry I couldn't get this chapter beta-read…!**

 **Take care,**

 **A.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Please don't read this fanfiction while having dinner with your friends and family, although there's nothing too mature or PG or whatever…)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **January, 2010.**_

 _ **Vienna, Maryland.**_

Dean didn't know how long he had been in that position. All he knew was that he woke up before dawn and now the sun was bursting through the curtains. Truth be told, he didn't care how long he had been in that position. He didn't care simply because it felt good. Kate was curled up against him, her bare back nicely warming his bare chest just like the rest of her soft body. One of his arms was wrapped around her waist to keep her close to him while his other arm was comfortably curled on the pillow just above her head. His fingertips were caressing her silk curly brown hair while his green eyes were watching her sleeping profile. Her hair smelled of vanilla and something else that he could never point at but that was _so_ her. Her perfume alone could bring him serenity, and still at the same time her perfume drove him crazy more often than he would admit.

Her perfume and _everything else_.

A tender smile formed on Dean's lips when a light groan escaped the brunette's throat and she started to snuggle closer against him. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but he cherished the delicateness of her facial features, from the three freckles in her neck up to the tiny, faded scar above her right eyebrow. There was a little hardness in her features still, and sometimes he could spot a bit of sadness. Obviously, it pained him because he was certain that some of these features appeared during her time in their mad universe alongside him and his brother. One reason that should have made her not choose their universe.

But, she chose to stay in it and Dean still couldn't understand why she did. After all, their universe was worse than just a mad universe. It was a crappy universe where crappy things happened, where there was danger in the form of a supernatural creature ready to attack at any moment.

" _I chose to send myself to you. I chose_ _ **you**_ _, Dean,"_ her voice echoed as an answer to his quiet questioning.

Dean had never been chosen before. Not by anyone. Then, the day came when he found out that he had been chosen by Heaven to be Michael's vessel. At that moment, he had realized that not being chosen wasn't as bad as he had come to believe. But then, an impossible girl with wild curly hair crashed into his life, and she chose him.

She chose _him_.

Not for what he could be, but for what he already _**was**_.

Sometimes, he felt like she was delusional, or that she was crazy, or even both. It was so difficult for him to believe that someone as gentle, understanding and _human_ as her could choose someone like him. A _monster_ like him.

" _You are not a monster, Dean,"_ she had told him a long time ago. _"That's one thing I'm more than sure about you, Dean. You are_ _ **not**_ _a monster."_

Even then, she was so convinced that he deserved her kindness, her support, her comfort, her affection…

Dean's train of thoughts were interrupted when the brunette stirred a little against him. He stopped his breathing, and just stared down at her for a moment, concern on his face as he remembered the terrible nights of late December, a couple of weeks ago, when she'd scream in her sleep because of another nightmare.

If anyone deserved to be showered with kindness, support, comfort and affection, it ought to be her – _not_ him.

When he saw her eyes slowly opening, he whispered to her, "Good morning."

She frowned, groaned and rolled away from him, pulling the blanket over her head as she laid on her stomach. Dean noticed a movement from her head and so he pushed the blanket off her head down to her shoulders. He smiled when she opened her brown eyes and he realized there was no trace of a nightmare inside of them. His closed-mouth smile grew bigger when she met his gaze.

"Good morning," he repeated, a little amusement echoing in his whisper this time.

"Morning," she smiled back at him.

"Sleep well?"

"I feel like I've slept for a month or two."

"And, you still don't want me to call you 'sleepy head'," he teasingly remarked.

She smirked, and then looked over his shoulder at the clock hung on the opposite wall.

"How come you're awake so early?" She inquired with a frown. "I mean, aren't you a bit tired after last night?"

"C'mon, with the number of times we've been doing it since December, you should be giving me more credit."

"You're such a smooth talker," the brunette laughed before rolling to her back and stretching her body. Dean's eyes traveled down to the hills created on the brown blanket by her curves. "So, you didn't answer," she pointed out, causing him to move his gaze back up to her face. She looked at him, still laying on her back. "How come you're awake so early?"

Dean didn't have time to reply as the room's phone rang. They both turned their heads to the nightstand table on Dean's side, wondering who could be calling Kate's room at such an early hour.

"Yeah?" Dean picked up. "Oh, hey Sam! Why didn't you call on my phone or Kate's phone?... Oh, yeah, I forgot we turned them off… Well, we were kinda busy; do you need a drawing? Because –" He stopped abruptly and sat up.

Kate saw the amusing expression on his freckled face melt away, only to be replaced by a hard expression. His green eyes moved to Kate's brown eyes that were slowly filling with worry. She couldn't hear what Sam was saying on the other end of the line, but it was easy to figure out that the younger Winchester wasn't sharing some good news. Her eyes were locked with Dean and she was sure that he could see the questions running wild in her mind, but still he didn't say anything as he listened to his brother.

"Alright. We'll meet you at the car in five," he eventually said before putting the phone back at its position.

"Is Sam okay?" Kate immediately asked as she watched Dean's face.

"Yeah, he's okay," he replied, running a hand down his jaw.

"Then, what is it?" She demanded. "Dean, _what_ is it?"

"We gotta hit the road," he just said, standing up. He grabbed his boxer briefs and quickly slipped them on before taking his old pair of jeans that were laying on the floor right next to the bed.

"Dean, what is happening?" She insisted with a stern voice as he finished putting his jeans on.

The dirty-blond hunter stopped his rushing and looked over at the brunette sitting on the bed, her hand clinging at the blanket that was covering her chest down to her feet. If it weren't for her worrying expression and for Sam's news, Dean would have thought that she looked extremely appealing.

He took a deep breath and sighed, "Matt and Maya were attacked by demons and hellhounds… And, it's bad."

* * *

 _ **Half an hour later.**_

 _ **Crisfield, Maryland.**_

The road trip from Vienna to Crisfield was supposed to be an hour long, maybe even a little over an hour, but that was not the case when it was Dean Winchester driving. Especially not when there was an emergency that involved two fellow hunters; among which one he and Sam have known for years.

Maya Sanchez.

The thing was that Kate had never met Maya, but she had already heard about her several times before. Bobby had told her that Maya hunted since her teenage years and that she was pretty good at it. However, the old man never told Kate why he hadn't teamed up with the huntress for years. Kate had simply assumed that it was all because of what Matt had told her about Maya; how the huntress had gone solo after the death of her partner. Sure, it didn't make that much sense seeing as since her arrival in this universe, Kate had heard Matt and Rufus talking about some cases they had recently solved with Maya. Nevertheless, Kate had never thought too much about it; after all she had a hell lot of things to figure out at that time.

But now that they were hurrying to where Matt and Maya were, the young brunette couldn't help wondering about that huntress. So, after Sam reassured Kate that Matt wasn't badly injured, the brunette decided to ask him and his big brother about Maya.

While driving with the foot on the gas, Dean told Kate a bit about Maya so that the brunette could know what kind of person they were rushing to help. He told her that she was a smart hunter who didn't mingle that much with other hunters. He told her that she was the kind of hunter who traveled a lot, taking cases in Latin America and even in Europe, mainly to expand her knowledge of monsters and how to get rid of them. He told her that they had been on a couple of hunts with her before their father died, which happened a couple of months before her partner died. Dean told her that Maya's partner died in the job like most hunters do. At that moment, Kate stopped asking questions, but it didn't stop her from noticing that Sam had remained noisily quiet when Dean was talking about Maya. The brunette didn't have the time to make any comment about it as Dean smoothly parked his car next to one of the few shipping containers that surrounded the harbor Matt told them to come at.

The trio quickly got out of the car, Sam and Dean went to take the bag containing the first aid kit and the stitching kit from the trunk. While Sam started putting the medical kits in his side-bag, Kate looked around, pulling her kaki coat tightly around her.

The harbor was empty.

There were five big red shipping containers and three blue ones, but not a single trace of a worker. Kate presumed that with the freezing cold weather of these past couple of days the workers had their days off. She turned her head to the row of docked boats, and noticed only one that didn't seem to be a transport ship.

It wasn't a very big boat, but it was obvious from the outside that there was enough room on the inside for someone to live in it and travel. Kate instantly figured out that it was Maya's. Surely, Kate hadn't met Maya yet but there was no doubt that the solo, traveling huntress was getting more and more intriguing for the impossible girl.

"Katie, come on," Sam exclaimed, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She looked over at him and then followed him and his brother as they quickly went to the boat. Kate stopped in track when she saw the name of the boat.

 _Serenity_.

It made her smile for a couple of seconds as it reminded her the name of another ship, and then she quickly caught up with Sam and Dean.

Dean knocked four times on the door, his eyebrows knit together as he tried to hear any sound that indicated somebody was coming to the door. After a few seconds of silence, he glanced up at Sam and then at Kate, both wearing the same worrying expressions. Without a word he pulled out a knife from his jacket's inside pocket, bent down at the level of the lock and started picking it. Surprisingly, it didn't take more than three seconds for Dean to get it done. He straightened up and glanced at Sam and Kate, catching his little brother's movement as the latter pushed onto his back the side-bag so that he could take his gun out. Dean looked down at Kate and then took his own gun out before handing it to her. He gave her a pointing look and she gave a firm nod. Kate tightened her grip around the gun, trying to block all worried thoughts about the two hunters who were supposed to be waiting for them inside the boat.

Dean turned his attention back to the door and in a low whisper he counted, "One… Two…"

The door swung open before he even got to finish his counting, causing him to lift up his knife, ready to kill whatever creature was going to attack him.

"Whoaa!"

"Sonofabitch!"

"Matt!" Kate half-shouted as she saw that it was her blue-grey-eyed friend who was standing in front of them.

"Jeez, Winchester, I thought you guys were here to help us not to stab us," Matt exclaimed, looking at Dean and his knife before looking over at Sam holding a gun aimed at him. "Or shoot at us."

"Sorry," Sam sighed, putting his gun down. "Usually Maya opens her door quickly so we sorta jumped over conclusions."

"I see that," Matt commented before looking at Kate who was still holding Dean's gun up. "You've got a gun? You guys gave _her_ a gun? You are aware that she can't shoot, right?"

"Hey, I've made progress," Kate retorted.

" _Still making_ progress, actually," Dean declared, sliding his knife back into his pocket.

"Hey!" Kate frowned at him before he took back his gun from her.

"You're bleeding," Sam remarked to Matt, causing Dean and Kate's gazes to snap over at the dark-haired man and notice that indeed there was blood dripping from his right hand.

"Yeah, that's actually one of the reasons why I couldn't get to the door quicker," Matt simply explained. "But, Maya's in a worse shape."

Sam and Dean didn't need more to make their way inside the boat. Kate glanced up at Matt who nodded at her to follow the two brothers, which she instantly obliged while he pushed the heavy door closed.

They walked into a corridor tightened with piles of books on each side and then arrived in what seemed to be the main room of the boat. Kate's eyes roamed over the many bookshelves, the several different symbols painted on the walls and the dried plants hanging from the ceiling.

"Maya!" Sam exclaimed with concern in his voice as he rushed across the room where Maya, a blond-haired woman with dark olive skin, was laying on her stomach on a long, blue couch.

Kate turned her head to him and to Dean who walked over to where Sam was already opening the medical kits. She made a few steps towards them and then stopped when she saw the huntress. She was wearing a pair of black pants and a white and red long-sleeve.

 _ **No**_ **.**

Maya was wearing a white long-sleeve, but it was covered in red.

It was covered in _blood_.

"Samuel," Maya said a bit weakly, lifting her head. "And, Dean-o," she smiled to the elder Winchester.

"Sammy's gonna take care of you," Dean told her from where he was crouched next to her head.

"Oh, I don't doubt that," she replied, moaning in pain as she tried to sit up.

"Don't move," Sam told her as he cut through her shirt to get a better access to her injuries.

"What the fuck happened?" Dean asked, standing up from his crouching position.

"Exactly what I told Sam on the phone," Matt replied as he stepped into the room. "Demons and a couple of hellhounds."

Dean and Kate looked over at him, the young woman's gaze instantly fell to his bleeding hand and she immediately went up to him.

"Yeah, but what the hell did you guys do to get hellhounds after you?!" Dean exclaimed, looking back and forth at Matt and Maya.

"It's a long story," Maya let out, still trying to sit up.

"Stay still," Sam told her while Kate led Matt to the desk that was against the wall opposite to the blue couch. "We'll talk about this once I'm done with you, okay?"

"Okay, _bossy_ ," Maya half-smirked as she repositioned herself onto her stomach, her head laying on the side so that she could look at the people in the room.

As Matt sat down on the old brown chair at the desk, Kate quickly went to grab some necessary tools and Band-Aids from the first aid-kit next to Sam before coming back to Matt's sides. She could feel Maya's eyes on her, but didn't think much of it. The two women had never met so it wasn't odd that they would throw glances at each other. However, as Kate took care of Matt's hand and Sam took care of Maya's back, it wasn't glances that Maya was throwing at Kate.

Maya was staring at her.

Dean noticed it, and he noticed that it wasn't the simple, innocent staring that one gives to someone they just met.

It was the kind of staring that a hunter gave to something they were suspicious of.

Dean peered over at Matt, wondering what the dark-haired hunter may have said that would make Maya have such a look.

He didn't say a word, though. He remained quiet as he threw discreet glances at Matt and at Maya.

Kate finished stitching Matt's wound rather quickly, but Sam took a few more minutes. Unlike Matt who let out a few groans, Maya hadn't made any noise of pain or discomfort, neither when Sam poured alcohol on her wounds, nor when he stitched her four long wounds. Three of them were pretty superficial, but the fourth one was quite deep, and it was this last wound that took the more time.

"I'm done," Sam finally stated, once he had finished stitching up the short-blonde-hair huntress.

"Thanks," Maya said, trying to sit up with one arm while the other held her long-sleeve against her chest. Once she was sitting up, she grabbed a long black scarf that was laying on the back of the couch and wrapped it around her, letting go of the ruined white long-sleeve.

"Maybe you should stay lying down for a bit," Sam told her, grabbing a towel and wetting it with alcohol so that he could clean his hands.

"No, I'm fine," Maya replied before glancing over at Kate who was looking at the books in the shelf next to the desk.

"So," Dean said, a bit irritated by the way Maya was again staring at the brunette. "How come you have been attacked by demons and hellhounds?"

Everyone turned their attention to the elder Winchester. His arms were crossed over his strong chest and a hard expression painted his facial features. Kate frowned a bit as she instantly realized that something was wrong. He didn't look worried for Maya anymore, he almost looked wary of her.

"It's a long story," Maya started.

"I know. You already said that," Dean cut her off, taking everyone slightly aback. "I wanna know two things, but first I wanna know if that _long_ story involves one of you making a stupid deal with a crossroads demon?"

"' _Stupid deal'_? Huh!" Maya scoffed. "You're one to talk."

"Exactly," Dean responded. "I know what I'm talking about."

Kate looked up at Matt, and fearing the worst, she inquired, "You didn't…"

"No," Matt replied. "Maya and I didn't make any deal, but…"

"But?" Kate asked, her brown eyes traveling all over her friend's face.

"But, my mother did," Maya finished.

"Your mother?" Sam asked, his hazel eyes looking at the short-blonde-haired woman.

"Yeah. My mother," Maya confirmed.

Kate glanced at them and noticed the look the huntress was giving to the younger Winchester. It was one of these pointed looks that told you he knew something others didn't.

"Her time is up, so you're trying to save her," Dean deduced, sounding suddenly less harsh.

"I've been trying to save her for ten years, Dean. Since the very day she made that deal," Maya stated. "I made that my number one top priority. No matter what happened, I kept trying to find a way."

"But, you never found how to save her from the hellhounds," Kate said in a little voice.

"It's not about saving her from the hellhounds," Maya replied. "Besides, they're probably already on their way to here right now."

"What?" Sam let out with raised eyebrows.

"Her mother is asleep in the other room," Matt briefly explained.

"So, in no time, we're gonna have a bunch of hellhounds here?" Kate said, trying not to sound too afraid.

"Relax, honey, they can't get in here," Maya told her. "The place is protected with hundreds of spells." Kate glanced over at Sam and Dean, only to realize that they more likely knew about that. "Among one that kills every non-human creature that steps in."

"That's brilliant. We should have these kinds of spell everywhere," Kate commented, glancing around at all the symbols.

"It's not that easy to get these specific spells to work, and it's even harder to convince some people that it's for the best," Maya explained.

"You said you wanted to save your mother, but not from the hellhounds. What does that mean?" Dean asked, putting an end to the little conversation about witchcraft.

"It means it ain't about me putting a bullet in my mother's head to spare her from getting scratched open by bitches from Hell," Maya responded.

"Then, what is it about?" Dean inquired.

"Her soul," Matt replied, causing everyone but Maya to look at him. "It's about saving her mother's soul from going to Hell."

"Can you do that?" Dean turned to look at Maya.

"Not really, but… I can negotiate."

"Don't tell me you're gonna trade your soul—" Sam began, only to be cut off by Maya.

"Already tried, but apparently they're not interested."

"Then, what do you have to offer in exchange?" Dean frowned.

"Information… Crucial information," the huntress responded.

"About what?" Kate asked, curious to know what could make a demon cancel a deal.

There was a short silence, Maya sighed and Matt turned his head to the brunette leaning against the desk, right next to him. He took a deep breath and replied to her question.

"About you."

* * *

For a short moment, silence floated in the air. A heavy silence during which Sam, Dean and Kate had a hard time trying to digest Matt's answer to the brunette's question.

"About _me_?" Kate breathed out, puzzled.

" _ **No.**_ " Dean declared sternly, his voice low and rough as he gave a dangerous glare to Maya.

"Dean, you don't even know what information I'm talking about –" The blonde started.

"I know exactly what information you're talking about!" Dean cut her off. "Matt told you about Kate and where she comes from, and now you wanna trade her so that you can save your mother –"

"No! Jeez, Dean, do you really think that I would be able to sacrifice an innocent to save my mother from a stupid decision _she_ 's made on her own years ago?!" Maya half-shouted, sounding outraged by Dean's accusations. "I have information; but it's not gonna harm your little friend here because it's not directly linked to her."

"Then, why are we here?" Dean snapped.

"You're here because it's a crucial information that _she_ needs to know," Maya responded.

"What is it?" Sam asked, causing Maya to turn her head to him.

"It's about that big, destructive weapon the angels wanna turn her into; the Light," she replied.

Kate looked up at Matt as she realized that he had to be the reason why someone she had never met before knew about the angels plans for her.

"No need to glare at Matt, honey. He didn't tell me anything," Maya continued and Kate returned her brown gaze to the huntress. "My mother did." It arose Kate's curiosity just as much as the Winchesters'. "Three weeks ago, I got a call from her retirement home. I was told that my mother was talking nonsense, that she was slowly turning senile. When I got there, I realized that her nonsense wasn't nonsense. She was talking about angels, demons, the Apocalypse, all these sort of things."

"Oh please, tell me your mother ain't a red-head who's been adopted and who's grown up thinking her father wasn't her real father," Dean said with a groan.

Kate couldn't help the little and noiseless chuckle that escaped her as she instantly knew he was scared of having to face another fallen angel.

"No, w-why? Is that important?" Maya asked, perplexed.

"No," Sam shook his head. "So, your mother, she's been hearing voices, seeing things?"

"She's been seeing things in her dreams," Maya clarified, grabbing the painkillers lying on the table. "But, it's impossible to get her to tell me exactly what those things are. All I got from her so far are ramblings about Heaven, Hell, the End of the World, and the Light. And, that's where the crucial information comes… She gave me the exact _location_ of the Light."

"What?" Kate let out, pushing herself away from the desk, and almost stumbling as she felt a bit dizzy all of sudden.

Matt was swift to grab her before she did stumble down. "You're okay?"

"Y-yeah," Kate replied, shaking her head as the dizziness left as quick as it appeared. "What you're saying is that the Light is on Earth?"

Maya nodded, swallowing down the painkillers with a bottle of alcohol.

"I don't know _how_ nor _why_ my mother gets these dreams about it and about the Apocalypse. All I know is that when Matt helped me getting her out of the retirement home, he heard her. He heard all she said and he…"

"And I told her that we had to call you, guys," Matt finished. "Her mother knew everything about the seals, about how Lucifer got out, about the horseman in River Pass, and she even knew what happened back in Carthage."

"Alright, so your mother knows everything, and above all she knows where Heaven has hidden their most destructive weapon," Dean started, his green eyes looking right into the huntress' dark brown ones. "And, you want to trade this information with demons?... I've never thought I'd ask you this one day, but are you out of your mind?"

"The reason why I wanna do this is because I know they won't be able to use it," Maya explained. "The Weapon can only be used by someone who can carry it and then become it. From what I understood, _she_ is the only one who can do it," Maya said, pointing at Kate. "The demons can't do anything with it… But they don't know that; they don't _need to_."

"You sound so sure of yourself," Sam said, his voice gentle as he looked down at the wet towel in his hands.

"Because I _am_ sure," Maya replied.

Sam sighed, putting the towel on the coffee table. "I understand that you wanna save your mother. I do. But, if demons find a way to force Katie into becoming the Light and then get her to fight along them against Heaven, then… Then, it's over."

"According to Matt, she's not the kind of girl to give in easily," Maya said in reply, sending a little smirk towards Kate who was staring at her with a deep expression. Maya moved her gaze to the tall man sitting next to her. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the Light is watched very carefully by angels. There's no way demons can get their hands on it."

"Yeah, but demons can get their hands on Kaitlin," Dean retorted.

"Look, if I weren't sure that she would be safe, I wouldn't have told you about any of this."

"So, you called us for our green light, huh? Well, there ain't any. We're not gonna –"

"Are you certain that it will work?" Kate asked all of sudden, interrupting Dean. The three men snapped their heads to her. Her bright brown eyes were staring right into Maya's dark brown ones. "Are you certain that the demons will accept this deal? Your mother's soul in exchange of this information?"

"Yes," Maya simply replied.

"Then, why did they attack you?" Kate questioned.

"They already know my mother has some good information, they wanted to take her with them. Luckily enough, Matt and I went to the retirement home at the same moment they came to get her," Maya explained. "But, they don't know yet about the deal I wanna make."

"What if they want more?" Kate asked.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Maya replied.

"Alright," Kate nodded, causing Dean to snap his head to her.

"' _Alright_?" Dean repeated with a frown.

"Yeah, ' _alright'_ ," Kate confirmed. "It's not like this information is really gonna be useful for them. They're gonna try and make it useful for them, but they won't be able to. I mean, they don't even know I can carry the Weapon. Got a tattoo to prevent them from knowing I can, remember?"

"That's actually a good point," Sam thought out loud and his brother looked at him with lifted eyebrows. "What? It's true. As long as no one knows she can carry the Weapon, she's safe, and so is the rest of the world in fact. This kind of knowledge can't be of any harm if they don't have any way to use it."

"But, what if they find a way to get Kaitlin?" Dean asked him.

"Like you'd let them do," Sam replied, a kind smirk on his lips.

Dean muttered something under his breath.

"What's that?" Kate asked, a playful smile on her lips. Dean looked over at her and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Look, Dean," Matt began, taking a step forward. "I get why you're not fond of this idea, but if there was a risk that the demons could get their filthy hands on Kate – and I really mean the slightest of risk – I wouldn't have called you. You _know_ that."

The brunette looked at her dark-haired friend. She did know that he wouldn't risk her life; especially not after that episode with Zachariah and Rosemary. She moved her attention back to Dean and saw that he was contemplating what Matt had just said.

"Alright," Dean half-muttered.

"What did you say?" Sam asked, not sure he had heard right.

"Alright," Dean said louder, annoyance in his tone as he glanced at his little brother. "But, your plan better be a solid one," he warned Maya, his piercing green eyes staring at her with sternness.

"It always is," the blonde huntress smirked. "But, more seriously… _Thank you_. Thank you for helping me," she softly added.

Nobody said anything. Kate's attention was drawn to Sam as he rested his hand on Maya's arm in answer to her thanks. The brunette smiled and then moved her brown eyes to Dean, only to find him already staring at her. Their eyes locked. She immediately recognized the expression swimming in the green of his eyes. It was the fear of losing someone he cared about.

"Maybe you should tell them about the plan while I go and check on your mother," Matt declared and Maya nodded. "Come with me," he told Kate, causing her to break the eye contact with Dean.

"O-okay," the brunette whispered before following her friend as he went to the corridor they had walked through earlier.

Kate could feel Dean's eyes on her, but she didn't turn to him. She didn't want to see that fear in his eyes if she couldn't take it away right away. As she made her way to the corridor she promised herself that she would reassure Dean later. She would reassure him that he wouldn't lose anyone he cared about. Not today.

* * *

When Kate arrived in the little room, her eyes settled on the old woman lying on the little bed. She was wearing a simple beige sweater and a pair of dark blue pants. Her short dark hair was lightened with grey strands, and aside from the wrinkles around her lips and at the corner of her eyes, the old woman looked a lot like her daughter.

"Close the door," Matt said in a calm voice as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Kate obliged and then she watched as he positioned his forearm just above the old woman's slightly parted lips.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked.

"I'm checking that her breathing isn't uneven," he replied before looking up at her. "Maya used a powerful spell to teleport her mother and me here."

"Teleport?" Kate repeated, her eyes round. "There are spells for that?"

"There are spells for everything; I'm surprised you didn't know that," he declared and Kate gave a light shrug. "It's Dean, isn't it?"

"What about him?"

"He told you to keep away from magic," he elaborated.

"Ha. No," she replied as he watched her looking at the books and parchments lying open on a chest of drawers. "You got the wrong brother."

"Sam?"

She turned to him and gave a simple nod.

"Funny, I would have thought that Dean would be the one grumpy about you reading about witchcraft, not Sam," he stated.

"Well, he used to be grumpy about me reading anything related to the supernatural of the world, whether it be about monsters or magic," she replied, sitting on a raggedy stool. "And so were you."

"I still am," he declared with a corner smile, and Kate couldn't help but smile back.

It had been a while since they last saw each other, and the truth was that Kate missed him. She missed him a lot. In a way, Matt always reminded her of the simplicity of her old life. When she first met him, she was still trying to understand how this world worked. He had been sent by Rufus to help her out, to give her the training she needed to survive in such a dangerous world. They had spent so much time together, working on her fighting skills and learning about the different monsters and how to kill them. During that time, they got to know each other enough to become friends. Each had their secrets but eventually they had shared their secrets with one another, understanding that they could truly trust each other and above all rely on each other.

But Kate still had one secret.

One secret that she knew she couldn't share with him or with anyone else for that matter.

" _I gave you some of the essence of the Guardians power,"_ Chronos' voice echoed in her head. _"It won't serve you to win this war. It won't serve you to win any war. It will serve you for just one thing: to another universe. Two one-way tickets to save yourself and one person that you don't want –_ _ **can't**_ _leave behind."_

That secret was a burden that she would have to keep on carrying on her own. Because that secret could destroy everyone's hope that they could end the Apocalypse.

"So," Kate said, clearing her throat as she pushed her thoughts in the back of her mind. "You said Maya teleported you and her mother to here?"

"Yeah," he nodded before leaning towards Maya's mother legs, next to which there was a tiny brown bag. "See that bag?" He said holding it up for the brunette to see it. "It's a typical anti-demon hex bag. _But_ ," he paused, trying to open it with his banded hand. Kate wanted to offer help but she knew that he could do it on his own even though he had just one hand left and that it was injured. Once he had the bag opened, he took out a flat blue rock and threw it to Kate who easily caught it. "You chant the words that are written on this very special rock and then you put the rock in the bag, you add up a few drops of your blood and hop you can send a person away. It takes a bit of your energy, but it works, it really teleports people to wherever you wanna send them. Well, as long as they are unconscious."

"Unconscious? She knocked you and her mother out?" Kate asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nah," he chuckled. "She knows the martial arts of pressure points. You know that thing I showed you last year?"

"You mean that thing you _used_ on me last year," She corrected him.

"That was only because you wouldn't sleep," he replied. "And you needed to."

Kate sighed, looking down at the rock in the middle of her palm as she remembered last January. It was after Pamela's death, after the angels made Dean torture Alastair, after _she_ helped the angels make Dean torture Alastair.

"It feels like it was ages ago," she murmured wistfully.

"It _was_ ages ago," he said and she lifted her gaze to find him kindly smiling at her.

Kate stared at him for a moment before realizing something, "But, if one has to be unconscious to be sent away, how did Maya teleported herself here?"

"She sent herself here with another more complex spell that I don't know about and don't wanna know about," he said and Kate frowned in confusion. "It's black magic."

"Oh."

"Yep," he gave a nod. "I know what you're thinking, but Maya is a good person. She may practice black magic but she only performs the useful spells, and that with good intentions. She doesn't wanna harm anyone. She only tries to use the power of black magic to fix things."

"I don't doubt it," Kate replied truthfully. "It's just Sam warned me that black magic has consequences; big consequences."

"It does," Matt confirmed. "Maya lost her partner because of black magic."

"And she still performs it?" Kate asked, puzzled by the actions of the blonde huntress.

"It's hard to stop when you start," Matt simply said before his grey-blue eyes looked down at the unconscious old woman. "Especially when you think it's gonna help you find a way to save someone you love."

The brunette followed his gaze and looked at the old woman. She couldn't help but wonder why she had made a deal ten years ago. What for? Money? She didn't exactly look like a rich old woman, her sweater looked homemade and her pants looked pretty cheap. Revenge? Or maybe to save a loved one? Just like Mary Winchester had done it to save her husband, or like Dean had done it to save his little brother.

"What's her name?" Kate whispered, staring at the woman's cross necklace that was hanging out of her sweater.

"Eva," Matt responded.

"Do you think the plan has chances to work?" She asked, her voice little and thoughtful.

Matt looked up at his friend. Her facial expression reflected the pensiveness of her tone. He knew that her relationship with her mother back in her universe used to be hard and complicated, but when she came back from her journey with Mary Winchester, she had confided to him about her last phonecall with her mother. She had told him about how her mother regretted the way she had been towards her daughter, and she had confided that she regretted not trying to understand her mother more. He couldn't help but wonder if she still thought about it.

"I think, yes," he answered. "Are you afraid? Because you gotta know we won't let demons get to you."

"I know," she gave him a little smile. She looked down at the rock in her hand and stood up to hand it back to him, but her legs went weak and she fell on the floor.

"Hey!" Matt exclaimed, immediately going to her. "Hey, you're okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just a little… dizzy," she told him, closing her eyes tight as she tried to chase away the sensation.

"Are you seasick?"

"Well, I've already been on a boat a few times before and it went fine, so I'm pretty sure I'm not," she replied, opening her eyes. "But, I'm okay, don't worry."

"You're sure? Maybe you should lay down a bit?" He suggested.

"I'm fine –" She began to say before stopping when they heard voices shouting from outside the boat. "What's that?"

Matt stood up and went to look out a small round window. "Shit!"

"What's going on?" Kate asked, slowly standing up.

"The demons. They found us," he told her, turning around to look at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just let's get back to the guys," she told him and he immediately went to the door.

She looked down at the blue rock that she was still holding, she glanced over at the unconscious old woman and then slipped the rock in her pocket before going to the main room.

When the brunette got to the doorway, she stopped and stared at what was happening in the main room. Sam and Dean were getting weapons out of a big wooden box, and even Maya who shouldn't be moving was taking weapons out of a bag. Matt was standing next to the blonde, and his voice was echoing all around the room, but Kate couldn't make out a word he said. She started to take a step, and the room started spinning. She leaned one hand against the doorway, trying not to fall. She closed her eyes tight and then opened them to meet Sam's gaze. She saw him tell her something but she couldn't hear his voice; she couldn't hear anyone's voice anymore. All she could hear was her heartbeat hammering in her ears. She attempted to take another step, but she lost her balance.

Dean caught her right before she fell.

"Kaitlin!" He exclaimed, holding her in his arms as he knelt down on the floor. Sam and Matt rushed to them while Maya watched with concern from her spot next to the couch. "Hey, hey, look at me," Dean said as he turned Kate's face towards him. She was half-conscious, slightly grunting in pain.

"Check her temperature," Maya said, walking up to them.

"Kaitlin, sweetheart, come on, look at me," Dean continued, not paying attention to what Maya had told him.

Sam crouched down and rested his hand on Kate's forehead, causing Dean to glance up at him. His little brother's face contracted in concern.

"She's burning up!" Sam exclaimed and Dean looked down at the brunette in his arms.

"Fuck… I know what's happening," Maya sighed and the three men turned their heads to her. "She's dying."

* * *

Dean couldn't speak.

" _She's dying."_

Dean couldn't move.

" _She's dying."_

He could barely breathe.

" _She's dying."_

His green eyes were fixing intensively his blonde-haired friend, almost glaring at her and her words.

" _She's dying."_

He hated those words. Those words that echoed in his head, those words that he promised himself he would never hear anyone say about Kate, he _hated_ them.

"What do you mean ' _she's dying'_?" Sam asked, sounding like a scared child.

"She can carry the Light because she's from another universe; because her _soul_ is different from ours," Maya said, putting a hand on her lower back, the pain of her injuries was almost entirely away thanks to painkillers, but it still was a bit hard for her to be up on her two feet. "That means that even though she's human, she doesn't have the generic human soul that every human of this universe has..."

"The protections," Matt let out, understanding where the blonde was going at.

"Yes," Maya said, looking at him before returning her gaze to Sam. "My boat is filled with protections of all kinds against monsters, but there's a spell made to slowly kill every creature with no human soul. And I guess Kate's soul doesn't count as one of a human."

"Then undo the spell!" Sam exclaimed with urge.

"I can't," Maya replied regretfully. "If I do that then the demons and the hellhounds waiting outside, they'll barge in. All these spells are linked together. You take one down, you take all of them down, including the protection field around the boat. And without this particular one, if they don't get in, they'll just be able to make the boat sink; and all of us with it. I'm sorry it's affecting her but –"

"This spell ain't _affecting_ her, it's _killing_ her!" Dean shouted after keeping quiet for so long. "You like to play with magic, so _fucking_ do something!"

"The only way for her not to die is to take her out of the boat before she gets to the second phase of the spell," Maya stated. "But, with demons right outside, the protections increase to the point of making it impossible for us to get out."

"So, we're trapped," Matt declared. "And if we're trapped, it means we can't save Kate."

"There must be a way… Maya, please," Sam said, pleading her with his bright hazel eyes.

Maya glanced down at Dean. He wasn't glaring at her anymore, his attention was back to the brunette. He was holding her against him in a way that told Maya how much this young woman meant for him. Maya didn't know much about the brunette, but she could see that she was important, and not just to the elder Winchester, but also to the two other men standing in the room. She couldn't let an innocent die, let alone an innocent who was important to people she cared about.

"There is," Maya eventually let out. Dean shot his eyes up at her and instantly met her gaze. "I can turn the spells off for a few minutes, enough for one of you to carry her out of here."

"And whoever steps out of here will more likely be attacked by the demons and the hellhounds waiting out there," Matt commented.

"Right… Even though they're here for my mother, I bet they'd be happy to chew on whatever comes out of here," Maya declared, looking thoughtful.

"Not if we distract them," Matt pointed out. "The ones staying behind can shoot rock salt at them."

"He's right," Sam nodded. "Though, it's gonna be tricky to target the hellhounds."

"I will take care of the hellhounds," Maya declared firmly.

Kate let out a loud moan of pain, which made everyone understand that they had to hurry up.

"Okay, I'll carry her out," Dean declared, effortlessly getting up on his feet, carrying Kate in his arms.

"What? No, Dean, I think I should do it," Sam said, stopping his brother. "Your ankle isn't fully healed from our last hunt."

"My ankle is fine."

"You were practically limping just yesterday," Sam remarked, waving a hand at him. "Look," he sighed. "I'm just saying, what if you can't get to the Impala fast enough?"

"I will," Dean stubbornly replied. It wasn't that he didn't trust his brother to get Kate away from this place as quickly as possible, but he felt like he was the only one who could truly save the young woman.

"Dean," Sam repeated, giving to his brother a pointed look.

The elder Winchester looked down at the woman in his arms.

" _She's dying."_

Her eyes were closed, her face was paler than ever, and sweat was forming on her forehead. He remembered how peaceful she looked this morning and wished he could go back to that moment. Weak grunts of pain escaped her mouth and it made him clench his jaw.

"Alright, you take her," Dean told his brother who immediately slipped his arms under the brunette's body to carry her bride style. He stared at Kate for a few seconds and then he turned his head to Maya. "What's the plan?"

"What we know is that there are three demons out there, not far away from your car. You and Matt can distract them easily with a few salt bullets," she instructed. "Meanwhile I will cast a spell to make every hellhound around the boat visible, and also to prevent them from moving from their spots."

"You can do that?"

"It worked at the retirement home… Though a bit too late," Maya replied.

"Don't let it be too late this time," Dean told her, his green eyes staring intensively at her.

"I won't."

"Alright, easy plan then… That should work," Matt commented.

"It better," Dean remarked, glancing at the dark-haired hunter.

"It will," Maya declared. "Okay, Matt and I will go up in the little cabin, and Dean, you'll follow Sam and Kate to the main door."

"Okay, let's move!" Sam exclaimed, glancing down at the brunette in his arms before he went to the doorway through which they had come in earlier.

Dean quickly went to grab two shotguns, Matt doing the same while Maya crouched down to take out a parchment and a couple of tiny bags from a box underneath the table.

"Alright, I got everything," Maya announced, slowly standing up from her crouching position.

"How do we know when the protection field is taken down?" Sam asked from the doorway.

"You… You will feel some energy running through you. It will feel like a long shiver," she started to explain, finally standing up. "Then you'll have twenty seconds before it happens again. And when it does, it means the protection field is completely off." She turned her head to Matt. "On the other hand, when it's back on, you'll have just _one_ long shiver."

"How long will it all be off?" Dean asked, going to stand by Sam who was carrying the brunette.

"Not long enough," Maya responded. "But, long enough for them to try and get in. So just keep shooting at them until you have no bullet left. We need to prevent them from attacking Sam and Kate, but also from getting in here."

Dean turned his gaze to the young woman in his brother's arms. Her moans had gone very quiet but the wincing expression on her face told him that she was still in pain… She was still _dying_.

Dean took a deep breath and declared in a stern tone, "Okay, let's get to our positions."

Everyone obliged. Maya and Matt went to the other side of the room where, behind a brown curtain, there was a tight staircase that led to the little cabin. Sam walked down the corridor towards the main door they had come in earlier. Dean was right behind him, holding his two shotguns tight in his large calloused hands.

When Sam stopped in front of the main door, he stood against a wall and looked at his brother, "Can you unlock?"

Dean didn't say a thing as he put down a shotgun to do as told. Once the door was unlocked, he picked up his second shotgun and fixed at it for a moment. Kate's moans of pain had disappeared, and only her enervated breathing could be heard, which made Dean look at her with a worried frown. He couldn't help but wonder if this was phase two beginning.

"She'll be fine," Sam told him, half-whispering.

Dean lifted his gaze up to meet his little brother's, and he didn't like the expression in Sam's hazel eyes. It was the kind of expression that people gave when they were trying to reassure others about something that themselves were worried about. It wasn't reassuring at all.

"You don't waste time when you get out there," Dean said in response. "You don't stick around to fight. You run to the car and you keep driving until you're states away."

"I know," Sam nodded. He watched as Dean put one of his shotguns down again, but this time it was to take out the Impala's keys from his pocket. Sam managed to take it in one hand without making too many movements for Kate who was still in a silent pain. "I'll call Cas once we're far away." Dean nodded, picking up his weapon. "Maybe he'll be able to zap all of you out of here."

"What?" Dean frowned. "No, you call him so that he can fix Kaitlin."

"Dean, she won't need any fixing. Maya said that she'll be fine the moment we step out," Sam told him. "But, you guys on the other hand, you'll need help to get out of here alive. The demons and the hellhounds won't give up on Maya's mother – " Sam stopped when a long and strong shiver ran through his entire body. The same shiver traveled through Kate and Dean's bodies. "Did you feel it?"

"Yeah. Twenty seconds left before the next one," Dean declared, loading his shotguns.

"I'm still gonna call Cas to get you guys out of here," Sam told him.

"It's useless, man. By the time you'll call him, Maya will have had the spells back on, and I bet she's got some pretty stuff against angels too."

"He can still come in the harbor and get rid of the bastards out there."

"As long as it's after he gave Kate a check-up, and I'll _know_ if he didn't do that first."

Sam let out a light scoff, "Her obstinacy is rubbing off on you."

Dean huffed a quiet chuckle, "You can talk."

Sam looked down at Kate. It hurt him to know that she was silently dying in his arms right now. He wanted to believe that stepping out of the boat will save her; he _had_ to believe it.

"She'll be fine," Sam declared, not whispering this time around.

Dean looked up at him, and he was surprised to see another expression in his brother's eyes. It was determination to make his words happen. It was determination and certainty that these words would come true. And it was all he needed to be reassured that she _would_ be saved.

A second wave of shiver ran through their bodies.

Once it was over, Sam and Dean exchanged a look and a firm nod that said everything that needed to be said.

With his jaw set, Dean pulled the door open, and fired right away at two of the three demons.

The third demon was taken care of by Matt who was shooting from the little cabin.

Sam held Kate closer to his chest and ran out of the boat. With salt rock bullets shooting in the air, he went straight towards the Impala. He froze mid-way when he heard growling behind him. He turned around and saw nothing, but he knew full well what that sound was. He turned and his eyes rounded when he saw a massive dark shadow with the shape of a deformed dog.

He frowned as he realized that the shape wasn't attacking him, and then he understood. It was all Maya's work. Without thinking twice, he went back to running to the black car.

Up in the cabin, Maya took a shotgun to fire alongside Matt. She had casted a spell to throw a heavy black cover on the invisible beasts; a cover that would make their shapes visible and that would especially make them unable to move. Thanks to her spell, everyone knew that there was only one hellhound in the vicinity.

Dean saw the dark shadow next to Sam and Kate, and he immediately shot it. A demon took opportunity of that moment to leave its meat-suit and swirl towards the boat. When Dean saw the red smoke coming towards the door, he cursed under his breath as he quickly stepped back and pushed the iron door closed.

The red smoke immediately went up to the little cabin and it passed right by Matt and Maya before it made its way to the rooms downstairs. Maya instantly feared for her mother who was alone, so she quickly left Matt on his own.

"Maya!" Matt shouted after her before he felt shiver run through him. He understood that the protection field was back on so he went after Maya, without paying attention to what was happening on the harbor as he was convinced that Sam and Kate had made it to the car.

But, Sam was only opening the Impala's door at that moment.

One of the two demons kneeling in pain on the floor, turned her head to Sam and smirked.

She immediately used their mojo to open the door of a red shipping container, and with the wave of the hand she threw Sam and Kate flying through the open door.

Sam landed on his back in a loud thump and a groan of pain. Kate, half-unconscious on top of him, let out a little moan at the sudden movement.

The demon waved her hand again and the door shut closed, trapping the two hunters inside the container.

The female demon stood up, watching the container with a devilish smirk.

" _He_ got in," the male demon said, standing up with a grunt as he stared at the boat.

"Did he?" She asked, her attention glued to the shipping container.

"It's Sam Winchester in there, isn't it?" The male demon said as he noticed the way she stared at the container. The female demon's smirk grew bigger. "Maybe we should call… Um, you know who."

The female demon snapped her head around to him. "Now that _he's_ stuck in the boat, you wanna betray –"

"Wasn't it the plan?"

"It is… But, first, I wanna have fun," she replied, turning her pitch black eyes back to the container. "And, then, we'll call Daddy."

* * *

Sam swiftly lifted Kate off him to settled her on the floor before quickly going over to the door. He pushed it with all his strength but it remained closed. He tried again and again, but it was all in vain.

He pulled his flashlight out of his jacket's pocket and lighted around. Although the container seemed quite big from outside, Sam realized that it was pretty little on the inside; about 14 feet in length and 8 feet in width. There was a couple of big wooden boxes in one corner that took up third of the room, but aside from that the room was empty. He aimed the flashlight at Kate and went to crouch next to her.

"Katie?" He murmured, putting a hand on her arm only to realize that she was still half-knocked out. He had hoped that she would be up on her feet the moment they left the boat.

In one movement, he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket to make the call. He stopped abruptly when he saw the words written on his phone's screen;

 _ **No signal.**_

He cursed under his breath.

He looked down at the brunette and sighed.

"I'm gonna get us out of here," he promised.

He stood up, slipped his phone back in his pocket, and went back to the closed door. With the flashlight he studied the door. There was no lock to open the door from the inside. However, he couldn't give up like that. He had to find a way to get out before the demons outside figured that throwing the container in the ocean would be fun.

* * *

Maya ran down the stairs as fast as she could, nearly tearing the stitches on her back. But she didn't care. She had to get to her mother before the worst happened.

"Maya!" Matt shouted after her.

When the blonde huntress arrived in the main room, she abruptly stopped.

Her mother was standing in the middle of the room, her back facing her.

Gruntings coming from the left made her turn her head to that direction.

It was Dean; he was held against the wall, his feet not touching the floor.

The huntress turned her head back to her mother as she realized that what she feared the most was happening right before her eyes.

"What the…" Matt began as he arrived behind Maya.

The old woman turned around and smirked at them.

"Mom…" Maya breathed out.

"Oh, sorry, darling, mom is not here for the moment," the old woman replied, blinking to show her pitch red eyes.

* * *

Sam was still kicking and hitting at the door, trying desperately to open it, when Kate blinked her eyes open. The brunette was confused by the darkness surrounding her, the only light was coming from a flashlight laying on the floor a couple of feet away from her. She looked at it and followed what it aimed at, only to see that all the gruntings were coming from Sam who was hitting at what looked like a metallic door. She frowned and sat up with a groan, which caused Sam to turn to her.

"Katie," he rushed over to her, grabbing the flashlight on his way before he crouched down by her sides. "How're you feeling?"

"Um, fine," she replied and he rested his hand on her forehead while he held the flashlight low with his other hand so that they could see each other.

"You don't have a fever anymore," he remarked.

"I had a fever?"

"You were burning up," he replied, pulling his hand away. "One of the protection spells in Maya's boat was… It was killing you, so we had to get you out of there."

Kate's brow furrowed, "Okay… And where are we now?"

"In one of the shipping containers next to the Impala."

"What?"

"Matt, Maya and Dean stayed back on the boat, and they were distracting the demons from there," he started. "But, then… Then one of the demons flew us into here."

"You're speaking as though we're trapped in here, but they'll get us out of here. Dean and Matt –"

"No, Katie," Sam interrupted her in a sigh. "No. Right before we were thrown in here, I saw red smoke going…"

"Going where, Sam?"

"Going into the boat," he replied and Kate stared at him for a moment, her mouth agape as she realized the situation.

"So, we're trapped in here and they're trapped in there with a demon," she said in a little voice.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from outside, as though something was being banged against the shipping container.

The noise echoed a second time.

Sam stood up and turned the flashlight to one wall of the container.

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"I don't know, but it seems to be coming from this side," he said and a couple of thumps echoed, louder this time and accompanied by a few little noises of banging.

Kate was going to stand up when she saw a large circle of light on the floor. She frowned in confusion as she followed where it came from. There was a hole in one of the four top corners of the container.

"Sam," she began, standing up.

Sam turned to her, aiming the flashlight at her. She pointed at the hole through which the light came from.

"Why would the demons make a hole from the outside?" Sam wondered out loud.

Right at that moment a large object came in the hole, obstructing the light from coming in. Sam lifted his flashlight at it as Kate and he took two steps closer, trying to see what the object was when a sudden flow of ice-cold water flew in through it.

"What the fuck?" Kate exclaimed as they both leapt back.

Sam looked at the water and then moved the flashlight around the room.

It wasn't a very big room, and above all, there was no way out.

"I think I know what they're doing," he stated, causing Kate to turn to him.

"What do you mean? What are they doing?"

"Katie, they're filling up the container… They're gonna drown us."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **I must be the most _horrible_ fanfiction writer that ever was.**

 **I am so sorry for leaving you with no update for so long. I have no excuse, except that life happened; life with all its ups and downs, and all its unforeseen events!**

 **But, I'm back.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Please don't hesitate on telling me what you thought about it. What did you think of Sam, Dean, Kate and Matt in this chapter? Oh and what did you think of Maya? Do you like her? Hate her? Don't care about her? What do you think about the beginning of the chapter? The ending? The middle?**

 **Also, thank you for all the people who kept on reading my stories even when I was MIA. Thank you for your reviews and your personal messages. Thank you for putting my stories in your favorites, thank you for following them and for following me!**

 **Thank you very much for those who have stuck around all along no matter how long I take to update! Your loyalty and your support mean the most to me. I will do my very best to make you proud for not giving up on me.**

 **Again, Happy Thanksgiving!**

 **A.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note:**

 **Here is the long due chapter you've all been waiting for. With my sincere apologies for the delay, I hope you will enjoy it.**

 **Before I forget: this chapter and the previous one were both betaread by " _missss supernatural_ "; a fantastic Frenchie who has already helped in the beta-reading of a chapter in the past. I can't thank her enough for her wonderful work and for her constant support. Thank you for cheering me up more than once and getting me to keep writing!  
**

 **Enjoy :)  
**

* * *

 _ **Crisfield, Maryland.**_

 _ **Inside a shipping container.**_

"Katie, they're filling up the container… They're gonna drown us," Sam declared, his flashlight aiming at the stream of freezing-cold water spurting into the shipping container they were stuck inside.

"Drown us?" Kate repeated, turning her head to the stream of water. "Well, at this speed, yeah, maybe in two or three hours," she turned to him even though she could barely see him in the darkness of the container. "But we're not gonna stand here and wait for it to happen, right? I mean, we can call Cas to get us out of here."

"We can't."

"What do you mean we can't?"

"There's no signal in here…" He sighed, and then continued in a more determined tone, "But, I'm gonna get us out of here before the water goes up to our waist."

"Before it goes up to our knees would be better," Kate nervously chuckled. She took a deep, shaky breath that got Sam to frown.

"We're gonna get out," he said as though stating what was obvious for him but not for the brunette.

"I know…" She replied in a little voice that showed how much she wasn't convinced by his words.

His frown deepened as he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well, I've never really told you, but… Um, I'm not particularly crazy about anything related to water, swimming, _drowning_ ," she let out a nervous laugh before she continued in a rambling, "I almost drowned once. I was ten years old, it was in some kind of summer pool party that I didn't even want to go to, a-and it was a hot day but the water it-it was cold a-and—"

"Katie," Sam stopped her as he walked up to her, aiming the flashlight at her, which caused her to squint her eyes a bit. "I told you, I'm gonna get us out of here."

"I know, I know," she nodded frenetically as he lowered the flashlight a little. "It's just th-the water was so cold back then, can you imagine how cold this water is going to be?"

"Katie, breathe!" He rested one hand on her shoulder and rubbed soothing circles with his thumb. "We're not gonna drown," he told her in a firm tone. "Everything's gonna be okay. You need to calm down. I know it's hard, but I really need brave, badass Katie here and not scared, panicking Katie, okay?"

Sam was holding the flashlight in a way that made it possible for them to see each other's faces, and Kate was thankful for that because she was able to see Sam's expression. His expression was as firm and full of determination as his words, and it was all she needed to stop the beginning of her panic. She took a deep breath and gave him a nod to which he responded with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder.

He then went to the door and the brunette looked at him as he began lightning the perimeter of the door. She took her phone out of her pocket, sighing at the ' **No** **signal'** words on the screen before putting it back inside her pocket. She pulled out the little flashlight from her other pocket and switched it on. The light immediately went to the floor and she stared at it for a moment as she saw that the water had already covered the floor. She bit on her bottom lip, breathing deeply through her nostrils as she moved the flashlight up to the stream of water.

Completely quiet, she watched it and gulped down, trying to suppress the unpleasant memories that were trying to resurface.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile on the Serenity ship.**_

"Maya!" Matt shouted after the blonde huntress as he ran after her.

She had instantly left him when a red smoke swirled past them to get inside the boat right before the protection fields got back on. Matt hadn't checked if Sam and Kate had made it to the Impala, but the last time he saw them they were right next to the black car so he was certain that they made it alright. However, the red smoke coming in the boat was a sign that things would go a bit more complicated for the ones who stayed behind on the boat.

When Matt arrived in the main room, he stopped dead in his tracks, right behind the blonde huntress.

"What the…" He let out at what he was seeing.

Maya's mother was standing in the middle of the room, her back facing them, one arm lifted up towards the left. Matt's gaze followed the direction and he saw Dean, pinned against the wall by an invisible force.

Matt clenched his jaw as he understood what was happening. He returned his blue-grey eyes to the old woman who turned around and smirked at them.

"Mom…" Maya breathed out.

"Oh, sorry, darling, mom is not here for the moment," the old woman replied, blinking to show her pitch red eyes.

"You evil bastard," Maya muttered through gritted teeth as she made one step towards the demon.

"Nuh-uh. Is that a way to speak to your mother?" The possessed old woman said, moving her other hand to throw Matt and Maya against the wall behind them. "Speaking of your mother," the demon continued, walking towards the blonde huntress. "How come she's _so_ good at keeping all the good information away from me?"

"You want the information? I have it," Maya declared, looking right into the red eyes of the demon.

"Do you, now?" The demon smirked. "See, I'm not quite certain you know what kind of information –"

"The Light!" Maya cut him off, causing the demon to squint at her. "That powerful Weapon God created, that's what you wanna know about, right?"

"Maya!" Dean shouted from his spot.

"I know everything you wanna know, and I'm ready to negotiate," the huntress continued, ignoring Dean.

"I don't know… Negotiations with hunters have never really worked for me," the demon sighed, pretending to ponder the suggestion. "You see –" the demon began before cutting himself when a wave of dizziness hit him. "What's happening?" The demon thought out loud, taking a step back.

The three hunters watched as the possessed old woman moved her hands to her chest, the demon's mojo immediately went away, setting the hunters free from the walls they were held against.

"Quick, on the green carpet!" Maya exclaimed as there was a demon's trap drawn just on the other side of the carpet.

Dean quickly went to the demon, grabbing a chair on his way. The demon wasn't hard to lead on the carpet as he was dizzy and confused by the aching pain that was rising within him.

Dean forced him to sit down on the chair and then he turned to Maya, "The rope, now!"

Maya swiftly grabbed the rope that was laying on the floor, just one step away from her, and threw it at Dean who didn't waste time using it to tie the screaming demon down to the chair.

Maya remained quiet and still as she tried to keep in mind that the spell was only affecting the demon, that her mother wasn't going through the pain the demon was enduring.

"What… What's happening to me?!" The demon panted as Dean stepped back, staring at him with a glare.

"Demons are not allowed on the Serenity ship," Matt declared from where he was standing next to Maya.

The demon looked around and scoffed as he saw all the witchcraft symbols on the walls and the various books and objects. "And, I thought you hunters hated witches."

"Well, today, witches ain't the problem," Dean said in a dangerous voice as he slid out of his jacket's pocket the demon knife.

"You will not dare; not with me in this meat-suit!"

"You wanna bet?" Dean replied, approaching the knife near the face of the red-eyed demon.

"Dean!" Maya hissed and the dirty-blonde hunter lifted his green gaze up to her.

"What? You don't want him out of your mother?"

"First, I wanna negotiate," Maya replied, causing the demon to scoff again.

Dean clenched his jaw, and sighed as he took a step back. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched in silence just like Matt had started doing.

Another wave of pain swept through the demon causing him to scream even louder.

"Feel that pain?" Maya spoke to the demon. "It's only gonna grow bigger until you die. You have one hour; one hour and a half if you're lucky."

"You little witch," the demon mumbled, looking up at her with his red eyes. "What do you bloody want?!"

"My mother's deal. Undo it and I will let you go," Maya simply said and the demon shook his head, quietly chuckling. "You're a crossroads demon, you can do it."

"Even if I could, why would I do that?"

"Because I'm pretty sure you don't wanna go back to your boss without the information you came here for," Maya responded.

Dean took a deep breath in. He still wasn't certain about Maya's idea.

The location of where the Weapon was hidden as it patiently waited for its only vessel to come and carry it; it wasn't any information. It was a piece of information that couldn't be shared with these demoniac sons of bitches. Dean was sure that the demons could always figure out a way to use that piece of information for their advantage. He could only imagine how far they would go to make use of such information once they'd have it. Surely they wouldn't hesitate to go as as decimating population after population until they would find a way to make use of the most destructive weapon ever created. But as concerned as Dean was about the planet's fate, he knew that his fears and worries of the demons getting hands on that information came from something else…

Something more personal.

Something that he wouldn't be able to lose again.

 _Someone_ that he wouldn't be able to lose again.

"My boss?!" The demon exclaimed, pulling Dean out of his thoughts. "I don't have a boss!"

"Isn't Lucifer kinda your boss?" Matt inquired with quizzical look.

"Lucifer is nothing but a bother to me," the demon replied, confusing the three hunters. "Which is one of the reasons why I need that information about the Weapon. I was hoping that he'd be killed back in September but pretty face here and his moose of a brother proved to be _bloody_ incompetent and useless!"

"Wait…" Dean began, taking one step closer to the demon as he squinted his green eyes at him. "Crowley?"

* * *

 _ **A while later, out in the harbor.**_

"Fuck, you can say a lot about the Winchesters, but one thing is sure: they've got great taste in music," the male demon remarked as he was sitting on the edge of the Impala's passenger's seat rummaging through one of Dean's boxes of tapes.

"Tapes?" The female demon asked from where she was standing next to the shipping container in which Sam and Kate were trapped. "Must be their daddy's."

"Speaking of," the male demon said, carelessly dropping the box on the floor of the car before getting out of the car. "Aren't we supposed to call Lucifer?"

"We will," the female demon responded, returning her gaze eyes to the shipping container in which Sam and Kate were trapped.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" The male demon asked, going over to the shipping container's door. "What if we damage the Vessel?"

"I'm not stupid; I won't let the Vessel be damaged by some cold water… I'm only having fun," the female demon replied, moving her gaze to the long, thick tube that connected a water cistern to the shipping container; something that she had done after making a hole in the container. She had done it a moment earlier for fun. Hearing Sam Winchester and his brown-haired friend helplessly kicking from the inside was pure bliss for the demon. After a short while, she turned to the other demon, "Besides, the plan was to capture Crowley for Lucifer, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, capture him after he's gotten the information that old woman's got," the male demon nodded.

"Exactly. Now, all we have to do is wait for a little while. Half an hour, maybe even an hour. Just enough time for him to get the information and… Well, to get tortured," she smirked, causing the other demon to sneer. "And, then we'll get Lucifer here to take care of that ship and of Crowley."

"You think he'll be able to take down the protection charms?"

"Is it me or are you doubting _his_ powers?" She turned to him.

"No, I-I don't doubt it," he replied.

"Good," she stated, turning her attention back to the shipping container. "As for Sam Winchester, don't worry about him. Even if he dies in there, Lucifer can bring him back."

"What about the girl?"

"Well, I've been thinking about getting a new meatsuit," the female demon replied. "It's a shame that she'll already be drowned-dead… I love making them scream from the inside."

* * *

 _ **Some time later.**_

 _ **Inside the shipping container.**_

After rummaging through the few big wooden boxes that were inside the shipping container, Sam and Kate realized there truly was nothing useful that could help them get out of the container; unless one thought that big boxes filled with tiny boxes of tea could help.

Sam went back to trying to open the door by attempting to cut the door's joints while Kate tried to find some phone signal. She was standing on top on of one the wooden boxes that was right next to the plugged hole from which the water was spurting into the container.

With one hand holding her flashlight, she used her free hand to hold her phone as close as possible to the plugged hole without getting the device wet.

She had been doing that for some time now, and she was slowly losing hope that they would ever get out this container in time.

In the past thirty minutes the container had been filled with a great amount of freezing cold water. The temperature of the container had dropped a few degrees, and the two hunters were slowly starting to feel it.

"Damn it!" Sam shouted as he accidentally cut the inside of his hand.

Kate turned to him, aiming her flashlight towards him, only to see that he was bleeding.

"Sam!" She exclaimed, quickly hopping off the box.

She landed on her feet, causing a little splash of water around her. She grimaced for a second at the freezing cold water that was nearly reaching her waist. She walked up to Sam, doing her best not to pay any attention to the water that wasn't stopping going up.

"Show me," Kate told him, taking his hand.

"I'm fine," he told her, going back to trying to open the door.

Kate felt a twinge of sadness as she watched him. He had been restlessly trying to find a way out, never stopping once, not even when he hurt himself for a second time.

"Sam –" She began, only to be cut off.

"Katie, I'm fine. Just go back on the box."

He didn't even glance at her. He just kept trying to open the door, his bleeding hand slipping on the metal door.

The brunette felt another, and bigger, twinge of sadness.

It was her fault if they were stuck inside a freaking shipping container.

It was her fault if they were stuck inside a container filling with freezing-cold water.

Dean had suggested for her to stay behind, to stay at the motel, but she had insisted on coming. Something bad had happened to her friend Matt, so it was out of the question for her to stay behind.

 _And now…_

Now, Sam's life was in danger. And so were the lives of the people still on the boat. If she hadn't come along, then Maya would have never taken down that protection field like Sam had told her the blonde huntress did. She would have never turned it off, and all of them would have been safe. Sure, demons would still have been outside the boat, trying to figure out how to get in and get to Maya's mother, but all these smart hunters would have found a way out before anything went critical.

 _Yes_ , if it were not for her, none of this would have happened…

"Katie," Sam pulled her out of her thoughts. "Go back on top of the box."

"You have to wrap it up," she said, ignoring his order. She slipped her hand inside her jacket's pocket and pulled out a kerchief, dropping something on the floor by doing so. She barely glanced down at what fell as she decided that wrapping up Sam's hand was more important. "Give me your hand," she told him softly.

"Katie –" He began.

"Sam," she pointedly said before continuing in a gentler tone, "Give me your hand." The young man did as told. "Light," she said and he raised up the flashlight that he was holding in his other hand so that she could see his cut. "It doesn't look skin-deep."

"It isn't."

"Still, you should wrap it up," she declared as she unfolded the kerchief.

She could feel Sam's eyes observing her, and that was when they both decided to speak.

"I'm sorry," they said in sync.

Kate lifted her gaze up to meet Sam's hazel gaze.

"What?" He asked.

"What are you sorry for?" She asked with knitted brows.

"I… I promised that I'd get us out of here before the water gets up to our waist, but…" He trailed off, his eyes traveling down to the water that was a little over 2 feet; right at Kate's waist level.

"But, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for me being stubborn and insisting on coming," she finished for him.

"What? No, Katie, don't say that," Sam told her, furrowing his brow at her.

"Then, don't say what you just said," Kate said in return before focusing back on wrapping the kerchief around his hand.

Sam couldn't help the little smile that appeared on his lips. With a little huff, he said "You're starting to sound more and more like Dean."

Kate gave him a corner smile, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Well…" Sam gave a tilt of the head.

"Done," Kate declared in a little voice as she dropped her hands away from his.

"Thanks… You should go back on the box now. The water's freezing."

"It's freezing for you, too," she stated.

"I know, but I have to keep on trying."

Kate didn't say anything as she took a step back and watched him go back to the door.

She bit on her bottom lip and then glanced down as she remembered dropping something. She bent down and plunged her arm all the way down into the water to pick up the object. Once she found it, she frowned as she pulled her arm out of the water and stood right back up. She opened her fist and looked at the object that was laying in the middle of her palm.

It was a flat, blue rock.

Not _any_ flat, blue rock.

It was the flat, blue rock with tiny writings carved on one side of it.

It was the flat, blue rock that Matt had shown her when they were in that cabin with Maya's mother.

" _See that bag? It's a typical anti-demon hex-bag. But… You chant the words that are written on this very special rock and then you put the rock in the bag, you add up a few drops of your blood, and there you go, you can send a person away."_

Kate's brown eyes rounded as a large smile of happiness and relief stretched on her face.

"Sam," she began, ready to announce him the good news when suddenly both she and he felt the entire container abruptly moving.

Kate closed her hand around the rock as she lost her balance and fell on the floor.

Something outside was making the whole container spin around, causing everything – and _everyone_ – that was inside, to go upside down.

And, then a sudden feeling of free falling erupted in Sam and Kate's stomach.

Little did they know that the container was actually free falling into the ocean, down to the very bottom.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, out in the harbor.**_

"What did you just do?!" The female demon shouted at her partner as she ran to the edge of the harbor.

"Well, I thought it'd be more fun," the male demon replied.

"You fucking threw the container in the water. The container in which we've trapped Sam _fucking_ Winchester. Lucifer's _**fucking**_ vessel!" She gritted, turning to him.

"You were already drowning him with the water of the cistern you've connected to the container!"

"I wasn't going to fill the entire container, you fucking idiot! I'm not that stupid to kill Lucifer's Vessel!"

"I-I didn't kill him… Besides, you said that Lucifer can bring him back to life, so it's okay…"

The female demon walked up to him, her black eyes shining with hatred and disgust.

"The rules have always been clear. No matter what Lucifer can do or cannot do. 'If Sam Winchester is found. Do not kill him. Do not damage him. Call Lucifer,'" she told him. "Now, you know what's left for you to do, don't you? Go and fish Sam Winchester out of there before it's too late." The male demon gulped down, thinking of all the things that Lucifer would do to him if he found out what happened to Sam Winchester. "And then, we'll call Lucifer to come and finally kill that annoying Crowl – And what are you fuckin' staring at?!"

"Crowley's bitch… She…"

The female demon turned around to look at the hellhound. The spell that was keeping it stuck on one spot was entirely gone and now the animal of Hell was staring intensively and dangerously at them as it growled fiercely.

"Do you… Do you think she understood all we've been saying about Crowley?" The male demon asked, his black eyes never looking away from the hellhound.

"That, or…" The female demon glanced at the boat as she quickly understood why the hellhound was growling at them. "Crowley… The bastard."

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile on the Serenity ship.**_

"What was that noise?!" Crowley exclaimed as he looked back and forth to the three hunters who were standing around him.

"It ain't your problem," Dean nearly growled in reply, his green eyes never stopping on glaring at the crossroads demon that was possessing Maya's old mother.

"It may not be my problem, but it surely will be yours if the two demoniac monkeys out there are working on a way to get in your oh-so-lovely cruise ship!" Crowley replied with a sarcastic tone.

Dean tightened his jaw, fighting the urge of curiosity to glance outside.

"You must think very highly of your dear _monkeys_ if you think that they would find a way to go through my protection spells and save your ass," Maya declared, pulling Crowley's attention to her. It almost destabilized her as the demon got rid of his red eyes to look at her with her mother's eyes.

"Save my ass?" Crowley scoffed. "This is a joke, right?"

Maya was going to say something when there was another noise. There was no doubt about that noise. It was the noise of something heavy splashing in the water.

"I'm gonna check it out," Matt decided, going over to the only window of the room that wasn't fully covered with painted symbols.

"So, what is it? What is happening out there?" Crowley asked, sounding a bit urgent to know.

"Why do you care? We told you, you're stuck with us," Dean reminded him.

"Well, you see, these _dear_ monkeys have been waiting for the right moment to stab me in the back, and I'm quite certain that _right now_ is the moment they have chosen to do so... So, yes, I do _care_ about that!"

"I can't see anything," Matt sighed for himself as he walked away from the window.

"Get rid of my mother's deal, get out of her, and we'll set you free to go and see how they plan on stabbing you in the back," Maya told Crowley.

"I already know how they're going to stab me in the back... Lucifer!" Crowley spat out before he felt a little dizziness wash over him. He shook his head and continued, "They-They're going to call him to get me."

"Lucifer is coming? Here?" Matt asked, taking a step towards the demon.

"He may," Crowley replied.

Suddenly there was another noise coming from outside. It sounded like a loud argument. There were a few indistinct shouting and screams. And, then complete silence.

Maya looked at Matt and nodded at him to go and see what it was this time around.

"Why would he come down here?" Dean asked the demon who was beginning to sweat.

"Well, maybe because he wants to skin me dead after I sent you and your brother to kill him!" Crowley replied with sarcasm before he let out a loud moan of pain. "How could I be so stupid and give that mission to two morons like the Winchesters," he muttered to himself before another wave of pain washed over him, causing him to scream. "Bloody witch… You're gonna kill me and your mother with that spell!"

"No," Maya calmly replied. "I know how this spell works. It doesn't affect humans…" She glanced at Dean and whispered, "Or at least, not the ones from this planet."

Dean sent an intense glare her way. He was already not really into the idea of telling a demon the location of the Light, so the idea of telling anything about his impossible girl was totally out of the question. He knew that one tiny piece of information about her could endanger her life even more than it already was, and he surely wasn't going to let that happen.

"Jeez, Maya, how do you want me to see anything with all that drawing and painting on the windows?" Matt sighed. "I'll go check through the other room's window."

"Just behind that poster, there's a clean window," Maya told him, pointing to the poster that was right next to the window Matt was trying to see through.

Matt easily and rapidly took the poster off the window and put it down. When he lifted his head and looked out, he froze on spot.

"Guys…" He said in a tone that was enough for the two hunters – and even for the demon – to understand that something was wrong.

Maya and Dean turned their heads to him, and so did Crowley.

"I think we've got a problem," Matt told them, his grey-blue eyes looking straight at Dean.

"What are you talkin' about?" The Winchester asked with a confused look as he marched up to him. Maya remained in spot, squinting her eyes in puzzlement.

Dean looked through the window and his breath instantly caught in his throat.

The Impala was still where he had parked it earlier.

One of the doors was opened.

On the floor were three motionless bodies; the demons' meat-suits.

Two of these bodies were mutilated.

Blood was all around them.

And there was a lot of blood right next to the Impala, too.

Dean feared the worst.

Although the scenery told him that the blood was the ones of the two meat-suits laying not far away from his car, he couldn't stop worrying that there could be Sam and Kate's blood in the mix, too.

"Sam was supposed to drive away, wasn't he?" Matt inquired lowly as he looked at Dean's profile.

Without a word, Dean took his phone out to call Sam.

"What's going on?" Maya asked as Dean put his phone against his ear. "Matt?"

"Um," Matt began before he saw Dean clench his jaw as he put the phone away from his ear and made another call.

All Dean reached was the Sam's voicemail and Kate's voicemail. He threw another glance outside as he put his phone back in his pocket.

He spun around, his intense green eyes immediately meeting Maya's gaze.

"Turn it off," Dean immediately ordered, his face hard and serious.

"What?" She frowned.

"Your fuckin' protection field, turn it off," he advanced towards her.

"I can't do that, Dean," she responded with calm.

"You can and you're going to," he told her with a dangerous sternness.

"No, Dean. If I do that then the demons will get in –"

"The demons are dead," Dean cut her off. "The demons that were outside, they're dead. Butchered into pieces."

"That must have been Juliet," the sweating crossroads demon stated loud enough for the hunters to hear him. When he saw Matt's look, he rolled his eyes, "Don't give me that look, you humans give names to your dogs, too."

"Your hellhound?" Matt said, arching up one eyebrow.

"Yes, my hellhound. She's definitely more loyal than these demons, and I warned her to kill them if I'm not back by her sides in a certain amount of time," Crowley explained before another wave of pain made him wince.

"You've heard him," Dean said to Maya. "Turn off the spells before the hellhound attacks Sam and Kaitlin."

"The hellhound isn't gonna go after them," she replied. "Besides, by now they must be miles away so – "

"My car is still out there. They're not miles away. They're somewhere out there and their phones go straight to voicemail," Dean interrupted her with a pointed look.

"Oh God…" She let out.

"Now turn off that protection field and let me get out of here before –" He started but she cut him off.

"I can't."

"What?"

"I can't," she repeated. "Not until he agrees on cancelling my mother's deal and on leaving her body," Maya said, giving a nod towards Crowley.

"You're not serious…" Dean trailed off, his eyes traveling over Maya's dark olive face in disbelief of what she was telling him.

However, Dean couldn't let this happen; he wouldn't let it happen.

With half a snort, he glanced behind him to Matt and then he turned back to Maya.

"I'm so –" She couldn't finish as Dean violently pushed her out of his way to quickly go stand right behind the chair the demon was tied to.

In a swift movement, Dean put one hand on top of Eva's head and he held the demon knife against her throat with his other hand.

"Woah!" Matt exclaimed, raising his injured hand up in a calm-down motion as he made one step towards the dirty-blonde-haired hunter.

"Don't you move, Myers," Dean ordered, his furious green eyes never looking away from the huntress.

"Are you seriously ready to slice my mother's throat, Dean?" Maya asked him, standing still.

"Let me out of here and she'll be fine," Dean replied, trying to keep his voice as controlled as Maya's.

"I can't turn the spells off," Maya told him.

"She can," Crowley pipped in.

"Shut up," Maya glanced down at the demon. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"As a matter of fact, I happen to be the son of a witch. A despicable witch, _yes_ , but still a witch – "

"Shut up," Dean told Crowley, pressing the blade against the throat. "You've already turned the protection field off earlier, Maya, so that crap about not being able to do it again, I don't buy it."

"I'm not saying that I can't do it again. I'm just… I can't risk my mother's life, Dean," Maya replied. "I understand that you are scared for your brother. I totally understand. He's your family, and there's nothing more important than family. I know that. But even if Sam gets killed, you know the angels will bring him back. After all, he is destined to play an important part for the final fight."

Dean set his jaw as he sent a glare towards Matt.

"Don't look at Matt like that. He didn't tell me a word," she continued. "It just wasn't hard to figure it out. Other hunters will soon figure it out, too. I'm sure, you already know that. It's just a matter of time before everyone knows that your brother is –"

"Shut up," Dean stopped her and Maya glanced down at Crowley who looked too absorbed in his pain to even catch on what they were saying.

"You think he doesn't know? I bet all of Hell already knows about Sam –"

"You know what? I get it now," Dean declared, giving a nasty look at the blonde huntress. "I get it why Bobby doesn't want you around anymore. Why nearly no one wants you around anymore. You've changed."

"And you haven't?" Maya asked, giving him a dark look. "Should I remind you that you're the one holding a knife against my mother's throat? Since when does Dean Winchester care so little about the innocent he's trying to save… Like it or not, but Hell changed you."

Dean's anger left his green eyes, only to be replaced with hurt. It had been a while since he last thought of his time in Hell. The truth was that he hadn't even dreamt about Hell for the past couple of months

Not once.

Not since _she_ came back to him.

But, now… Now, someone that he had hunted with, someone he had saved several times before, someone that he had defended when criticized by other hunters, that someone had just reminded him of the worst thing that ever happened to him.

Dean gulped down, trying to calm himself down, when he felt like losing a whole part of himself in the memories he had learned to bury so deep down that he had almost forgotten them.

All of sudden, he could feel the heat of Hell's flames around him.

He could smell that awful odor of flesh burning.

He could feel that skin he was ripping off a body.

He could see all these tools covered with blood and parts of the bodies he had torn apart.

He could hear the screams, begging him to stop.

So many screams.

Dean took a few steps back until the back of his knees hit the couch. He dropped the demon's knife and looked down at his trembling hands.

He could hear a distant male voice screaming, _ **"Maya!"**_

They were covered in blood.

So much blood.

He heard that distant voice again, _**"Stop it!"**_

And so, _so_ many screams.

He squeezed his eyes shut and lifted his hands up to his ears.

He fell to his knees, and screamed.

The distant voice was barely a whisper now. _ **"Maya, stop…"**_

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, out in the harbor.**_

The shipping container was in the bottom of the ocean; right next to the harbor. There was no longer a thick tube connecting it to a water cistern, but water was still filling the container. Freezing water from the ocean was going through the hole and filling the container at an even faster pace than the tube.

Sam dived out of the water, and stood up, only to realize that the water was already 3 feet.

"Katie," he called, looking around him, but the darkness made it impossible for him to see the brunette.

However, he quickly spotted his switched-on flashlight laying underwater. He went for it, moving away the tiny boxes of tea that had gotten out of one of the big wooden boxes and were now floating around.

He quickly went under water and grabbed the flashlight before going back up to his feet. He turned the flashlight around him when Kate suddenly pulled herself upward in one corner of the container.

"Katie!" Sam exclaimed, rushing to her.

She turned around, squinting her eyes at the light that he was aiming at her.

"You're okay?" He asked, his hazel eyes scanning her face.

"Give me your flashlight," she just said in reply, snatching it from his hand.

"Katie –" He began but stopped when he saw her dive into the water again. He frowned and watched the way the light was moving under water. It was obvious that she was searching for something, only he didn't know what that thing was.

He was going to pull her out of the water when she suddenly dived out by herself.

"I've got it!" She exclaimed.

"Got what?" Sam asked, looking at her with a furrowed brow.

"Our way out," she replied, holding up the blue rock for him to see.

"What?" He breathed out, utterly confused by her words.

"Follow me," she said before going over to one of the big wooden boxes that hadn't opened.

These big boxes went up to Kate's chest so the top of this box wasn't submerged by the water yet. The brunette put the blue rock down on the box and gave the flashlight back to Sam. He watched her as she pulled out the anti-demon and anti-angel hexbag that was in her pocket. She opened the hexbag and got rid of the ingredients against the angels, making this hexbag exclusively against demons.

"What are you doing?"

"There's a spell that can get us out of here," Kate simply answered.

"A spell?" He repeated, turning his gaze away from the items on the box to look at her. "I thought I've been clear about magic –"

"You have," she looked up at him. "You have been more than clear, Sam. And I have done exactly what you told me to do."

"What I told you to do is to _not_ do magic," he told her sternly.

"And I haven't done any magic since then! But, when earlier Matt showed me this rock and told me how Maya teleported him and her mother away from the demons, I couldn't help but keep this rock with me."

"You stole –"

"I didn't steal it, I was just going to keep it until I can find more about it and about how it works," she replied before frowning at herself. "Okay, saying it out loud makes me realize that it's actually stealing… But, I just wanted to understand how, after all the research I've done since I came in this universe, how I've never heard anything about teleportation –"

"Because it's dark magic, Kate," Sam interrupted her, moving the flashlight to the objects she had put down on the box before moving it back up in between them so that they could see each other's face. "It's _very_ dark magic. Teleportation is a thing that demons do!"

"And so do angels!"

"You've met angels; they're worse than demons!" He replied and Kate bit on her bottom lip, frustrated that he wasn't listening to the important thing that she was telling him. "Only powerful beings can do it. And—"

"Sam, none of this matters! What matters is that we can get out of here!" She exclaimed. "Or at least one of us…" She finished in almost a little voice.

"One of us?" Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The spell Matt told me about, it's a spell that one can perform to send someone else to a place they wish to send them to," Kate explained.

"What about the other one?"

"Unless they know how to zap themselves away like Cas or even like Maya… The other one stays behind."

* * *

 _ **On the Serenity ship.**_

Matt was kneeling next to the unconscious Dean Winchester, trying to find his pulse.

"He's alive," Maya declared from where she was standing.

Matt set his jaw as he pulled his injured hand away from Dean's neck. He looked down at his freckled-face that was wearing such a scared and hurting expression just a moment before he collapsed.

"What the hell did you do?" Matt asked, standing up and turning to her.

"I said he's alright," Maya responded, sounding a tiny bit agitated. "He'll wake up in a few."

Matt frowned, "They came here to help us..."

"And they helped us," Maya finished for him. "But, then you saw what Dean did –"

"He wasn't going to hurt your mother. You know him well enough to know that he'd never do that! He was only trying to get you to turn down the spell for a moment."

"A _moment_ is all that a hellhound needs to get in here and kill my mother!"

"As long as this freakin' crossroads demon is possessing your mother, no hellhound will touch your mother, Maya!" He shouted at her. "Whatever you've done to Dean, that's wrong!" The huntress looked away. "Maya, please," Matt continued in a gentle voice, making a step towards her. "They came here to help us. And they even agreed on letting you give that information. Sure, Dean isn't crazy about this idea, but what kind of boyfriend he would have been otherwise?"

"Boyfriend?" Maya furrowed her brow.

"Yeah, I know. Dean Winchester, with a girlfriend, that's crazy, definitely the end of the world," Matt let out a short breathy chuckle, as he made another step towards Maya.

"That brown-head is Dean's girlfriend?" Maya asked, her brow still deeply furrowed.

"Kate," Matt said. "Her name is Kate. And, yeah, she's his girl. But… But she's also my friend, Maya. And, above all, she is an innocent. Sam and Kate, they're innocents… Please, just undo whatever you've done to Dean, and… And turn down the protection field."

"I need to save my mother," she replied in almost a whisper.

Crowley let out a sudden piercing scream, but the two hunters remained unstartled as they looked at each other in the eye.

"I've had enough of that bloody spell of yours! It's not funny anymore!" The crossroads demon panted, pulling the hunters' attention to him. "Take it off!"

Matt moved his gaze to Maya, and he instantly saw the expression on her face. She wasn't handling the situation as much as she wanted to let it seem. It was obvious that everything was beginning to be too much for her.

"You want it off?" Matt said, turning to the demon. "Then, let's make a deal."

"A deal?" Crowley asked, looking up at him.

" _My_ kind of deal," Matt clarified in a voice that showed he was the one in charge now. "You wanna get out of here, alive, and before Lucifer comes? Then, you're gonna erase her mother's deal. Completely. Once that is done, then we will take you off that chair and you'll get out of this body."

"I came here for information…" Crowley growled, refusing to accept the terms.

"And you won't have any," Matt told him, sternly as he leaned down to look right into the demon's eyes. "That day you sent Sam and Dean Winchester to Carthage, they were not the only one going there. I was with them. And so were two of my friends." Crowley stared at him. "They died because of you. They died because you gave us a piece of information that was bullshit."

"It wasn't bullshit!"

"It was," Matt declared, keeping his calm as his grey eyes were full of anger. "You told the Winchesters that the Colt could take down the Devil, and you told them where and when to find him. We went there. We lost two of our friends. Lucifer ripped one of my hands. And, the Colt didn't do _anything_ ," Matt glared at him.

"I didn't know that the Colt wouldn't work," Crowley replied through gritted teeth. "I want Lucifer dead and gone just as much as you do! I don't want the Apocalypse!"

"Alright," Matt nodded. "Neither do we. But, if we want to prevent the Apocalypse f–"

"Prevent it? For fuck's sake, it's already here!" Crowley cut him off.

"If we want to prevent it from destroying everything, our world and whatever you care about," Matt continued as though Crowley hadn't interrupted him. "Then, you're gonna let us deal with that piece of information."

"I _want_ to know what it is about," Crowley leaned his face closer to Matt's.

"You won't know," Matt told him, standing right back up.

"Matt," Maya began.

"No," Matt cut her off, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "I know that I was wrong to trust you with that idea and to call the Winchesters and Kate down to here. I know I was wrong to think you could handle something that involves someone you love. But, please, don't let me think that I am wrong to give you this one more chance, Maya."

Maya looked away from him, her gaze fell on the knocked-out Dean who was laying on the floor. She looked away, feeling guilty for casting that silent spell to make him relive his worst memories of Hell. She had reacted in the heat of the moment and she knew that it was no excuse because it was too late now.

"So, here is what's gonna happen," Matt stated, turning back his attention to the demon. "You're gonna erase that woman's deal, we will take you off that devil trap and you're gonna get out of this body. Once you're out of her, Maya will turn off the protection field around the boat so that you can go back to your meatsuit; which I hope for you is one of a dead man. Then, she'll give you one of her hex-bag that protects her from being seen by any other creatures, demon and angel included. You will leave this boat, safe and sound. And, you better make sure that your hellhound doesn't touch any of us; Sam and Kate included."

"What about the spell that's currently killing me from the inside?" Crowley grumbled.

"It will wear off once you're out the boat," Matt responded. He threw a glance at Maya, "Right?"

"Right," Maya confirmed in a little voice, crossing her arms, her fingers stretching to reach for the bandages on her back.

"And, you're gonna use that piece of information about the Light to… To stop the Apocalypse?" Crowley inquired.

"We're gonna stop the Apocalypse," Matt told him. "How? And with what? It's not your problem." Crowley sneered. "So, do we have a deal?"

Crowley squinted his eyes at the dark-haired hunter as he remained quiet for a moment, considering the offer.

"Where do I sign?"

* * *

 _ **Inside the shipping container.**_

"Sam, please, hear me out!" Kate shouted as the young man was pushing with all his force at the iron door, even though he had already tried a hundred times since they got trapped in there. "It's the only way!"

"It's not!" He shouted as he kept trying to push the door open. He turned around to her, the light of the flashlight she was aiming at him making him squint his eyes. "I'm not gonna let you perform a spell to get me out of here and leave you behind!"

"I won't be left behind!" She shouted at him. "If you could just listen to me 'till I'm done then you'll understand that I'm _not_ gonna die in here! But if you don't give me one minute to listen to me, we'll definitely die in here, both of us, whether you manage to open that door or not!"

Sam clenched his jaw as he breathed deeply through his nostrils. The freezing water was nearly four feet, now. If it weren't for them moving around and boiling from the inside, he was certain that the low temperature of the water would have already killed them.

Sam went back by her sides and she looked up at him.

"Let me perform the spell and send you away –"

"Sam, no," she shook her head as she put the flashlight on top of the wooden box. "I do the spell and you get Cas to zap in here and take me out of here with him. That way, you and I, we'll _both_ be saved. And then we could try to help the others left behind in the boat."

"Why can't we do the other way around?" Sam asked, pretending to have not heard the last thing she had said even though he knew that it was just as much of a priority as getting out of this freaking container. "Why can't _I_ send you away?"

 _Because I'm afraid I won't get Castiel to come in time to save you_ , she thought.

"Because I have better knowledge at witchcraft than you do," Kate decided to say.

"That's bullshit," Sam replied. "Katie, you're afraid of drowning."

"Who isn't?" She half-whispered and he glanced at her quivering lips and he noticed just then that they had turned a bit blue from the cold temperature.

Sam's face softened as he asked, "Do you really think you'll be able to stay one more minute here, all by yourself? Because I don't think so."

"I'll be fine," she replied, not sounding a bit convincing for him.

"Katie..." Sam gently sighed. "Just, let me do it first."

She stared at him as she tried to find a way to persuade him not to.

Eventually, she sighed, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah… Just… First, lean down, I gotta show you how to do it." Sam leaned down and looked at the hexbag she had let open on the top of the big wooden box. "See the rock in the middle? There are words carved on that side, you need to read them out loud when performing the spell. Can you read them?"

"Um, yeah, I think so," he declared as he took the flashlight and directed the light to the rock.

Kate slowly and discreetly moved back as he leaned closer down to read the words craved on the rock without touching it.

"What then?" He asked as the brunette slowly moved her hand to grab a floating wooden board.

"Then, you need to put the rock in the middle of the hexbag," she told him as she lifted the wooden board and held it up like a baseball bat. She was almost thankful that the water filling the container was making so much noise.

"It's already in there," he replied.

"Okay… I'm sorry," Kate declared before taking a deep breath.

"What – "

Kate didn't let Sam finish as she quickly swung the wooden board to his head.

He fell down, unconscious and underwater.

"Shit!" Kate exclaimed as she dropped the board and went to pull the young man out of the water.

Sam was far from being the lightest person to carry, and of course he was even heavier when unconscious and soaked, but the brunette managed to hold him up and went to move him onto the box. It was hard, nearly impossible, but she used all of her strength and determination, and after a few struggles, she managed to push him up onto the box.

Once it was done, she aimed the flashlight at his face, and then directed it to the stream of water in the corner. She took a deep breath and nodded at herself.

"Let's do this," she told herself.

She held the flashlight in between her lips and went to take the knife out of Sam's pocket.

" _It's a typical anti-demon hex-bag. But… You chant the words that are written on this very special rock and then you put the rock in the bag, you add up a few drops of your blood and there you go, you can send a person away."_

She held the knife tightly in her right hand and used it to cut the tip of her left pointing finger. Once she saw the first drop of blood forming she put the knife back inside his pocket and took the blue rock. She read the words and then put the flashlight down, right next to Sam.

She chanted the words, put the rock back in the middle of the hexbag and held her left hand up above it. She reached for the flashlight with her right hand and watched as a few drops of blood fell into the hexbag.

Kate didn't know what to do else. She took the hexbag, closed it, and then put it in Sam's hand before closing his fingers around it.

She shut her eyes closed tightly and prayed for him to be sent to Bobby's place, picturing the old hunter's living room in her head.

She opened her eyes and was defeated when she saw that Sam was still there.

"No," she whispered. "Please… Just –"

She couldn't even finish her sentence as Sam disappeared right in front of her eyes.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly a smile broke out on her face.

Sam was saved.

It was only a matter of minutes before he would send Castiel to save her as well.

Suddenly and brutally an unpleasant feeling hit her.

Her smile left as she felt as though all of her energy just got sucked out of her.

" _It's a typical anti-demon hex-bag. But… You chant the words that are written on this very special rock and then you put the rock in the bag, you add up a few drops of your blood and and there you go, you can send a person away… Well, as long as they are unconscious."_ Matt had told her.

But, he had said something else before telling her the condition in which the person had to be to have the chance to be teleported away.

It was something important…

"… _And there you go you can send a person away. It takes a bit of your energy, but it works, it really teleports people to wherever you wanna send them to… Well, as long as they are unconscious."_

Kate stepped back, her eyes going heavy and the room spinning.

Suddenly, she fell down, unconscious and underwater.

But unlike Sam earlier, she had no one to pull her out of the water.

* * *

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

Nearly hidden behind piles of books, Bobby Singer was at his desk, reading a book as he yawned for the ninth time in a row. The old hunter was exhausted. He had spent the last three days and nights doing intensive research for his friend, Rufus. The latter had contacted him about some weird case he was struggling to solve, Bobby had been ready to send him to another hunter, but Rufus had once again pulled the Omaha card. Bobby was certain that if someday he came to forgive himself for what happened in Omaha all those years ago, then Rufus would bring it back up to him. The thing was that Bobby didn't reproach Rufus for doing so. He knew that his friend wasn't doing it on purpose. However, Bobby believed that it would be better and healthier for Rufus to stop thinking about that tragic hunting trip…

Bobby sighed as he realized that it was hypocritical of him to believe this. The truth was that he was just as much unable to stop thinking about some tragedies that happened in his life. Especially the one involving his wife and him stabbing her… What he wouldn't give to change that day? What he wouldn't give to get her back?

Bobby shook his head. He had to keep focused on the book he was reading. After all, Rufus was concentrated on his research. The dark-skinned hunter had even stopped rambling every three minutes.

 _Wait…_

Bobby's eyebrows knitted together as he rolled his wheelchair back and went around his desk to look over at Rufus.

"You must be kidding me…" Bobby trailed off, staring at his friend.

The hunter with a mustache was fast asleep. His legs were stretched out on the coffee table that was covered with books and papers. A book was flat open on his lap, and an empty bottle of beer was in his left hand. His head was laying backwards on the edge of the back of the couch. His mouth was slightly opened, with a bit of drool slobbering down one corner.

Bobby took a deep breath, shaking his head. He was getting lumbered with research while Rufus was getting some nice sleep.

Out of the blue, Sam Winchester appeared in the middle of the room.

The young man was laying on the floor, soaking wet from head to toe.

"Sam!" Bobby shouted, startling Rufus awake.

"I'm working!" Rufus exclaimed, letting go of the empty beer to instantly grab his book up.

"Rufus!" Bobby shouted at him as he wheeled towards Sam.

Rufus lowered his book and saw Sam. He dropped the book on the couch as he stood up and went over him. "Damn it! How… Was he here the whole time? And why the hell is he soaking wet?"

"He just came out of nowhere," Bobby replied as Rufus knelt next to Sam and pushed him on his back. "Rufus… Please, tell me my boy's alright." Rufus checked Sam's pulse for a few seconds. "Please…" He prayed in a whisper.

"He's alive!" Rufus declared and Bobby let out a long sigh of relief.

"Hey, boy, come on!" Rufus gave him little slaps on Sam's face, trying to wake him up.

Sam started to blink his eyes open. He winced, putting his hand on the back of his head as he tried to stand up.

"Hey, take it easy," Rufus told him, causing Sam to stop moving as he looked up at him.

He looked around himself, disbelief all over his face as he murmured, "It worked."

"What worked?" Rufus asked, causing Sam to instantly remember where he was just a moment ago.

"Sam, what the hell is going on?" Bobby asked the young hunter.

Sam looked up at him and Bobby frowned at him, blue eyes full of confusion meeting green-hazel eyes full of determination.

"We need to call Cas," Sam stated with a tone of urgency. "Right now."

* * *

Laying on the floor, Dean could hear voices talking as he slowly came to. He opened his eyes and saw two pairs of feet walking to a corridor. His eyes traveled around. And at the sight of the symbols painted on the walls and the dried plants hanging from the ceiling, Dean remembered where he was. He also remembered that Sam and Kate weren't with him. They were outside. They were in danger. Groaning, the hunter pushed on his hands to try and stand up.

"Dean!" He heard a familiar male voice exclaim.

Dean gripped the edge of the near-by couch, to help himself up.

His head was pounding, almost as though he had one of these really painful hungovers.

He shut his eyes tight and opened them to spot his demon knife laying on the floor. He bent down to grab it, losing his balance a bit. He felt a hand clumsily giving him some help. He looked down at the hand and saw that it was a bandaged hand. He moved his eyes to the other hand and saw a plastic one. He then lifted his green gaze and met the blue-grey eyes of Matt Myers.

"Take it easy," Matt told him once Dean was standing on his feet.

Dean stared at him and then stepped back as a flash of images and sensations washed over him.

Blood. Screams. Flames. Screams.

" _ **Maya! Stop it!"**_

That voice he heard…

It was Matt's voice…

"Dean?" Matt asked, his eyes scanning Dean's face.

Dean frowned as he pushed back these memories that had flown back to him after leaving him alone and in peace for so long.

"Dean?" The dark-haired man repeated.

Dean didn't say anything as his eyes caught on the empty chair onto which he had tied down Crowley earlier.

"Where are they?" Dean asked, his voice weaker than he would have wished it to sound.

Matt didn't comment on Dean's voice, but he did notice it. "Maya and Crowley? They've just left."

"What?"

"Yeah, it took some convincing but Maya finally took the protection field off, like a minute ago," Matt responded.

Dean didn't wait for more explanations as he made quick and big steps to the corridor.

"Dean!" Matt called and the hunter stopped, turning to look at him. "Maya's not that bad, you know? She's just lost."

Dean didn't say anything, he just stared at Matt as his words echoed in the back of his head.

" _ **Maya! Stop it!"**_

Dean spun around and started to walk as he declared, "You still had to stop her."

"Everyone needs someone to stop them sometimes," Matt said back, causing Dean to stop in the middle of the corridor for a second before he continued walking.

When Dean arrived out of the ship, his gaze traveled around the scenery, from the two mutilated bodies on the ground to the blood next to the Impala, and then his gaze fell on Maya and her mother standing face to face.

Red smoke got out of Maya's mother's mouth and swirled inside the only not-mutilated body on the ground. Maya caught her unconscious mother in her arms, dropping a couple of brown bags she was holding in one hand, and Crowley stood up, now possessing a dark-haired male body wearing a black suit and a red tie. Dean recognized the meat-suit as being the one Crowley was using when they first met all these months ago. Dean frowned as he saw Crowley take the bags from the floor, saying something to Maya that Dean couldn't hear from where he was standing.

"Crowley!" Dean shouted.

Crowley looked over at him and shouted back, "Dean Winchester. Until… _Never_!"

Crowley snapped his fingers and disappeared into thin air.

It was at that right moment that the trench-coated Castiel and Sam appeared next to the Impala.

Dean's eyes rounded with surprise and relief to see his brother safe and sound… _And soaked?_

Sam met his brother's eyes and he was, too, relieved to see him alive; especially since the last thing he knew was that a demon got into the ship before the protection field was back on.

"Sam," Castiel said with urgency.

Sam turned his attention back to the angel. He then looked to where there were red and blue shipping containers, and his eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement. "I don't understand… It was here," he pointed at an empty space. He was certain that it was right there that the container he and Kate had gotten trapped in was.

Castiel looked at the empty space and then at the tube of water hanging to the ocean. He squinted his eyes as he put two and two together and then he zapped away.

"What's going on?" Dean asked his brother as he walked to him. "Why are you soaking wet?"

Sam wasn't focused on what his brother was saying. He was too busy looking around himself at all the blood and the butchered bodies. He spotted Matt making his way to Maya who was kneeling on the ground, her mother in her arms as she gently caressed her hair back.

"Sam, where is Kaitlin?" Dean asked and Sam felt his breathing stop abruptly.

He shifted his green-hazel eyes to Dean, and the expression in them was enough for Dean to understand that something wrong had happened.

"Sam… Where is she?" Dean demanded again, his voice louder as his heart was beating fast with fear of the worst.

At that moment, Matt, who had crouched down next to Maya and her mother, looked over at them. He then glanced around them and quickly realized that Kate wasn't anywhere to be seen. He stood up to go over to the brothers, when the blonde huntress spoke to him.

"We need to carry her inside," Maya told him and he returned his gaze down to her and her mother who began to blink her eyes open.

"Maya?" The old woman said, grabbing her daughter's attention back to her.

"Hey mom," Maya murmured, smiling down at her mother who was finally saved from that deal and from Hell.

Matt frowned. Maya's mother was fine, but Kate… Kate was missing.

He moved his attention back to the Winchesters and walked up to them, listening carefully to what Sam was telling Dean.

"She wanted to save me first… She _saved_ me, and she –" Sam was interrupted when an entirely soaked-to-the-skin Castiel appeared right next to them with an evenly soaking wet Kate in his arms.

Matt stopped walking, freezing on spot as his eyes widened in shock.

Sam and Dean's eyes were just as big and round as his.

Dean's green eyes roamed all over Kate's face.

She was so _pale_ , and her lips that used to be red as blood, they no longer were; instead a slightly blue color painted her lips.

"I found her unconscious underwater," the angel declared as he laid her down on the ground.

"What?" Sam breathed out, watching the brunette with concern as Dean rushed to her, right away kneeling next to her and placing his ear next to her mouth to listen for breathing.

"She's not breathing," Dean said, causing Sam and Matt to stop breathing for a second.

"There's a reaper," the trench-coated angel stated all of sudden, his piercing blue eyes staring at the reaper who was standing just a few feet away from them, watching in silence.

The three male hunters looked at Castiel, his hazel eyes reflecting the fear that had burst inside of them. Because they all knew what the presence of a reaper meant.

"Cas, do something!" Sam pleaded their angelic friend, causing Maya to glance over at them.

"You know that I'm cut short from Heaven's powers… I can't –"

Dean didn't wait for him to finish as he instantly began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He breathed four times into Kate's mouth, pinching her nose. "Come on. Come on, Kaitlin!" He pressed on her chest, trying to follow the CPR instructions that he remembered.

Sam felt a lump in the throat as he watched his brother tried again but nothing happened.

Her chest wasn't rising.

Dean pressed on her chest again.

"Come on," Dean pleaded in a whisper as the brunette remained unmoving. He went back to breathing in her mouth and then back to pressing on her chest. "Please, don't…. Don't do that…"

Suddenly the woman gasped her way back into life, washing relief on the Winchesters, Matt, the angel, and even on the blonde huntress who then returned her attention down to her mother.

Kate began to cough and the elder Winchester quickly turned her on her side as she kept coughing, water pouring out of her mouth.

"It's okay, Kaitlin. It's okay," Dean said, giving her gentle yet firm taps on her back to help her getting rid of all the water that had filled her lungs.

As Kate stopped coughing, she tried to sit up, her head was lowered down as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. Dean helped her into a sitting position and then took his jacket off.

"Don't you ever do that again," he warned her as he put his jacket on her shoulders.

She lifted her head up to look at him, her eyes squinting at the bright daylight.

She didn't have the time to reply anything as his large hands cupped her cheeks, his green eyes roaming all over her face as his calloused thumbs caressed her cheeks. He then pressed a strong kiss on her forehead. He slid his left hand to the back of her shoulder while the right hand went to the back of her head, bringing her against him. He pressed another kiss to the side of her head, and she slightly pulled away, breaking the beginning of a very tight hug.

"Sam –" She began in a shaky breath, her brown eyes looking right into Dean's green ones.

"I'm fine," Sam cut her off, showing his presence.

She looked up at him, a little smile of relief appeared on her lips for a second before another expression formed on her face. An expression of distraught for their experience in the shipping container. An expression that painted Sam's face too as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Why are you still here? She is fine," Castiel said out loud, taking one step towards the reaper that no one but him could see.

The male hunters and the brunette were confused as they turned their heads to the angel who seemed to be talking with an invisible being.

"Cas?" Dean said, turning to him, his hand reaching out for Kate's wrist and grasping it as though to make sure that she would stay where she was, no matter what.

Kate gazed down at his hand for a second, she then glanced up at Sam and Matt, before looking around her. She saw the blood and the mutilated bodies on the ground and gulped down. It was an image straight out of a horror movie; an image that would certainly hunt her dreams for a while. She frowned as she spotted Maya kneeling on the ground, talking to her mother who was in her arms.

"If you're not here for Kate, then who are you here for?" Castiel asked, pulling the brunette's attention to him.

"Who… Who are you talking to?" Kate asked the angel who didn't even turn to her.

"A reaper," Matt answered, causing Kate to glance up at him in fear.

Then Castiel turned around, his blue gaze looking over at Maya and her mother.

And then…

Then, it all happened fast.

Maya started to beg her mother to stay awake, shaking her, and they all understood.

The reaper had come for Maya's mother.

* * *

 _ **Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.**_

 _ **That night.**_

Kate stared at her phone's screen, biting down on her bottom lip.

 **4:19 am.**

 **No message.**

She moved her brown gaze to the empty spot next to her and her teeth freed her bottom lip as she let out a sigh.

She pushed her blanket and turned to sit up on the edge of her bed.

She glanced down at her phone.

 **4:20 am.**

Still, no call and no message from them.

 _Maybe they stopped at a motel..._

 _But, still…_

She put her phone down on the nightstand and sighed as she ran her hands through her curls. Although she had slept for nearly 16 hours, she still felt the fatigue of what happened at Crisfield, Maryland just that morning.

The teleportation spell to get Sam out of the shipping container had sucked a lot more of energy from her than she had first thought when Castiel zapped her to Bobby's.

Kate had to recount the events to Bobby and Rufus. She couldn't miss the upset expressions that grazed Bobby's face everytime she mentioned Maya and performing magic. She knew that he was disappointed in her for performing a spell, but Rufus had complimented her for her boldness that had saved both Sam and herself.

Upon hearing that Sam and Dean wouldn't get at Bobby's before hours, the brunette decided to skip lunch and get some rest instead.

And now that she was awake, she was a little hungry.

Without being able to help herself from wondering when Sam and Dean would arrive, Kate walked out of the bedroom that had become hers at Bobby's.

She tip-toed her way to the staircase, her fingers pulling on the hem of her thick woolen sleeves.

Once she was down the stairs, she turned to the living room and heard some noise, which made her frown.

Were Bobby and Rufus still working?

When she arrived in the living room, the lamp on Bobby's desk was switched on, making it possible for her to make out the silhouette that was sitting in the couch with a bottle of scotch in hand.

"Dean?" She whispered.

He looked up at her, "You're awake," he stated in a more guttural voice than usual.

"Yeah," she walked towards him, switching on the floor lamp right next to the couch. His eyes followed her every move. She was going to sit down next to him when she met his eyes and saw how glistening they were. She glanced down at the alcohol in his hand. "When did you get here?"

"An hour… Maybe two hours ago," he replied, putting the bottle down on the coffee table.

"Where's Sam?"

"Upstairs. Sleeping, I think…" He told her, rubbing his eyelids with his fingertip and his thumb.

"What about you? Why aren't you sleeping?" She softly asked, sitting down next to him.

"Rufus is bunking in my room," he responded, rubbing his hand down his face, his eyes staring at the coffee table.

"What about my room?" She inquired, biting down on her lips as she looked at Dean's profile.

"I didn't wanna wake you up," he told her. "You looked so… Peaceful," he glanced up at her, a little smile on his full lips.

She slightly frowned at him as she could see that something was wrong with him.

With an even softer voice, she demanded, "What's going on?"

"I…" He began, his voice weak and sad.

Kate instinctively rested one hand on his back and the other on top of his hands.

He looked at her hand on top of his and tried to focus on the calm that she brought him; that she always brought him.

She didn't rush him, she caressed his hand and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Sam told me all that happened in the shipping container," he decided to say.

"It was just one spell –"

"I'm not talking about that," he cut her off, standing up. "I'm talking about you sacrificing yourself to save Sam."

"It wasn't a sacrifice," she replied, watching him as he went to the doorway leading to the kitchen. "It was strategy."

He turned around and looked at her, "Strategy? You nearly died, that's not what I call strategy."

"Well, I _didn't_ , okay? And neither did Sam," she responded.

"You don't get it," he shook his head. "I can't have you risk your life like that."

"I had to do this," she told him. "If not, then Sam and I would have both been dead."

"No," he shook his head again. "Sam could have managed the spell. You could have let him do it instead of you."

"And risk _his_ life?" Kate asked with a frown. "Dean, we're talking about your little brother. You get upset when he gets a simple scratch."

"I just…" He began before looking down and raking his teeth over his bottom lip. He took a deep breath and moved his gaze up to look right into her brown eyes. "I need you, Kaitlin."

Those were the moments that Kate cherished and damned at the same time. She liked it when Dean didn't censor his feelings and just speak them out, but she hated it when there was so much vulnerability in his eyes.

She stood up and walked up to him, a soft smile on her lips as she approached him. He looked at her as she reached her hand out and cupped his cheek. He leaned against it, his eyes fluttering shut at the soothing feeling she gave him.

"I know, and I need you, too," she gently whispered. "But you need Sam much more than you'll ever need me." Dean opened his eyes, ready to retort that it wasn't the same thing but she didn't let him as she continued, "I'm aware of that; we all are, and we all understand." His brow slightly furrowed as he stared right into her chocolate brown eyes. "But _you_ need to understand something. Sam isn't just important to you only, he's important to many of us. Just like _you_ are important to many of us. So you better start to expect other people to not just fight by your sides, but to also fight for you."

Dean's frown deepened as he raised his hand up and wrapped it around her forearm before slowly lowering down her hand away from his cheek.

"That's the problem," he declared, looking down at her hand in his. "You shouldn't be involved in any of this. I'm the one who started this mess with Lucifer and the Apocalypse." Kate frowned at him, confused as to why he was talking about the Apocalypse. "I've started it all. I've broken the first seal. It's my fault."

"No –"

"I-I've tortured souls. For so, so many years. I've tortuted souls. I've ripped them open, sliced them to pieces, stabbed them, burnt them, skinned them –"

"Dean!" Kate exclaimed, pulling her hand away from his tight and crushing grip.

Dean looked at her, his eyes wide as the one of a child who had just woken up from a nightmare.

"Dean," she said more softly, strong concern echoing in her voice as she took one step towards him, only for him to step back. "Dean, what's wrong?"

"I… Hell… I remember it so clearly…" He trailed off, closing his eyes shut and bringing his hands up to pull at his hair. "I can feel everything that I… It's almost like I've never left Hell," he stammered in a trembling voice. "That's it, isn't it? I'm still there… I'm still in Hell..."

"No," Kate shook her head, approaching him, but he stepped back again, colliding onto the table in the kitchen.

Kate had no idea what was going on. As far as she knew, Dean had never experienced such an intense hallucination. It broke her heart to see him in this state, so she quickly went to him.

This time she got Dean before he tried to get away from her touch. She lifted her hands up and wrapped them around his wrists, trying to get him to stop pulling at his hair. She stood on her toes and leaned up close to his ear.

"You're not in Hell," she murmured to him. "You're not in Hell, Dean. You're in Sioux Falls. You're at Bobby Singer's house. You're safe. You're not in Hell. You're safe, Dean. You're with me. You're okay. You're not in Hell. You're safe," she felt his arms lowering down as he let go of his hair. "Everything's okay, Dean. You're safe," she continued as she slid her hands up from his wrists to his shoulders. She stroked his shoulders and felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"Kaitlin," he breathed out.

"Yes, Dean," she replied in a murmur, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm here. You're with me. You're safe."

"I… Please, don't… Don't leave me," he choked out.

"I'm not leaving," she reassured in a whisper as she felt him hug her tight against him. She closed her eyes, tears escaping the corners. "I'm not leaving."

Kate didn't understand what had just happened to Dean.

She didn't understand any of it, but she knew something.

If there was a spell for teleportation, then there surely was one for memory, and she would be damned if she didn't find a way to erase these memories of Hell from Dean.

And she now knew just who to ask.

Whether the other hunters liked it or not, she was going back on the Serenity ship.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **First of all, I wanna say that I am truly sorry for this very late update… I know that I've gotten terrible at updating. I used to update every week or two weeks, but now… Now life has become so busy and so eventful that it's really hard for me to keep up with some of the things that I love the most. Anyways, I hope you will accept my sincere apologies.**

 **As for this original chapter, I hope you've enjoyed it. I have to say it was a tricky one to write… It's not that easy to write a chapter in which so many things happen at once and so many characters are involved. But the less easy part to write was the one before last scene… So many characters in one scene, each of them with different points of view and (kinda) different reactions… It wasn't easy at all, and I still doubt I managed to write well enough for you all to picture the scene in your head. I'm sorry if it was a struggle to read.**

 **Also I know that this before last scene and the very last one seem to end a bit abruptly, but keep in mind that they will be dealt about in future chapters, and thus what seemed a bit weird or too abruptly ended will no longer be :)**

 **I'd like to know what you thought about this chapter so don't hesitate on leaving a review to tell me. Was there something you like more than the rest? Or something you hated? Did you see it coming that the crossroads demon would be Crowley? What do you think about Maya triggering Dean's memories of Hell to get him to step away from her mother? What do you think about Matt deciding to take charge then? What do you feel about Dean having to go through Hell memories again? Do you think Kate will be able to help him out? Do you think she** _ **should**_ **take his memories of Hell away? What about the fact that she's planning on using magic again? Just tell me your thoughts :)**

 **(Also, I just have to say that I did a little mistake in the previous chapter by keeping the word "** _ **Hop**_ **" that we French people use sometimes and that basically means "** _ **and there you go**_ **", so I hope it wasn't too weird for you, and I hope you didn't think Matt was telling Kate to hop or whatever else haha.)**

 **Finally, I want to thank all of you dear readers for your amazing support! Thank you for coming back here to read my story. I know that it's a disappointment when there's no new chapter for a long while, but I promise that I will work on that. Hopefully you will get the next chapter sooner; let's say in a month upmost!**

 **Here are my answers for the reviews left on chapter 21 (I'm sorry I can't go back and reply to the previous ones, it would take a whole chapter to answer every single review previous to the 21** **st** **chapter… But know that I've read them, I loved them and above all I take them in consideration when writing. THANKS again for your kind words!) :**

 **Guest (November 25, 2016):** **Thank you for your review and thank you for reading that chapter while eating the Thanksgiving turkey haha. (Damnit, just this answer shows how shamefully long I've been gone!)**

 **.2016:** **Glad you found it nice!**

 **Sereenarm:** **That's so kind of you. Thanks for writing this review :)**

 **RomainieSweetheart:** **I'm sure you are a real sweetheart in real life because your reviews are always so sweet… Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your constant support my dear! Gotta say I was impressed to see that you remembered that detail about Kate who can't swim. Mmh… You just gave me an idea… I think in the upcoming chapters we'll get a Kate taking swimming lessons… Dean would be a good swimming teacher, don't you think? Haha. Thanks again for the review :)**

 **Klandgraf2007:** **Thank you for your review! You're one of my first readers and it makes me so happy when I see one of you come back and show me that you keep on reading my little story :)**

 **AdeliaJay:** **Thank you for your review! I'm glad you loved every moment between Dean and Kate. It's always hard for me to write them in romantic moments, because we never truly got to see Dean in that kind of situation in the show, so I always feel like I'm writing him way out of character… And then I remember that it's a fanfiction, so of course there's gonna be things that are pretty different from the canon show.**

 **Nicole946:** **Thanks for reading!**

 **Guest (December 14, 2016):** **Glad you like it so far!**

 **CrazyCrapInc:** **I like the fact that you found Maya very clever but so annoying in the 21** **st** **chapter (and maybe in this one as well) haha. I agree with you, she shouldn't mess with black magic, it leads to serious consequences… We'll get to learn a bit more about that in future chapters. Thank you for your review!**

 **Deb:** **I'm so glad that you don't find the characters to ooc. As I said before, I'm always afraid of making them too OOC. And you're so sweet for saying that this story deserves more reviews (I'm blushing so hard now)! I don't mind not receiving a bunch of reviews like other writers. I mean, sure I love reading reviews and sure it encourages me on writing more and faster, but I know that my story is filled with a lot of flaws… I've come to realize that having my loyal readers leaving me a review is more than enough for me :)**

 **Isabeaux3:** **So you liked Maya in chapter 21, did you like her in this 22** **nd** **chapter as well? Haha. Sorry for updating so late, but I won't do it anymore, I promise. Thanks for your review :)**

 **Guest (January 11, 2017):** **Thanks!**

 **Wades wife:** **Seriously? My story is one of your favorite Supernatural fanfictions? This is truly one of the nicest and best thing I have been told. I always feel like my story is shit compared to other stories so these kind of reviews mean the world to me. Also the fact that you binge-read the whole 2** **nd** **volume in such a short amount of time, I'm just… I don't know what to say aside from thank you! Thank you and I hope you liked this chapter just as much :)**

 **Helena88:** **Thanks for the review, hope you liked this post!**

 **Guest (February 3, 2017):** **No, I haven't abandoned this story! I would never abandon it without warning you all. Back when I was writing the first volume there was a moment when I wanted to abandon writing, but when I declared it, I was instantly encouraged to keep going by a bunch of amazing reader. And so just for you all, I will keep on writing this story until Kate's adventures are done. Speaking about that, lately I have been thinking more and more about the very end of Kate's story; the final chapter of You Better Run. I have written so many endings, but I think I've finally decided on one, and it just feels weird and a bit sad when I think about it. But don't you worry, the end won't happen before a long time (especially seeing how long I take to update haha).**

 **Elbereth-bluebird** **: I'm really happy you enjoyed the 21** **st** **chapter this much, and I hope you liked the 22** **nd** **too! Also I'm glad you like the Dean/Kate moments. You want to know more about Maya? Is that a wish? Alright, then wish granted. You'll know more about her :)**

 **Guest (February 10, 2017):** **"Hey! Hey!" I'm not leaving my story at that point haha. As much as I love cliffhangers I never will leave my story with such a cliffhanger. Thanks for your review, hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **You'll probably get the future chapter (based on the episode "My Bloody Valentine") sooner than you think so watch out ;)**

 **Love from my cosy bedroom in Paris,**

 **A.**


	23. Chapter 23

_**This chapter is settled in the episode 'My Bloody Valentine' (5x14).**_

 _ **I hope you will all like it.**_

* * *

 _ **Vermillion, South Dakota.**_

 _ **February 2010.**_

With a frown painted on her face, Kate watched the Valentine's card on the fridge. What made her frown was the handprint made of blood that was covering half of the angel drawing that was on the card. She and Sam were in the apartment of two women – or rather of one since one of them died the previous night. Surely they were there because the death of that woman was everything but normal. Apparently the woman and her date had eaten each other to death…

Kate tried her best not to picture the tragedy that seemed to come straight out of a horror movie. She had come to realize that no matter how many terrible things she had seen in this universe, there was always something more terrible waiting in the next corner. And this case now wasn't only terrible, it was also pretty disgusting – definitely one of the most disgusting cases she had to deal with. It almost made her wish she had stayed back at Bobby's, but she knew that staying back at Bobby's would have meant not being able to do her own research – and this research had to be done for something important.

Or rather for someone important.

 _Dean_.

It had been a little over a month since that day at the Crisfield harbor in Maryland, and after that day, taking away Dean's memories had become one of her main task to fulfill.

Castiel had used his mojo to prevent hallucinations to hit Dean, but the angel was still unable to get rid of all the memories that showed up every night in Dean's dreams.

The brunette then tried to get reach of Maya, but with the death of her mother, the blonde huntress had completely disappeared. Locating spells weren't fruitful, and neither was Castiel.

Kate eventually decided to work on her own in the research of a way to save Dean from his forty years in Hell.

Kate was pulled out of her thoughts when Sam spoke, "So... You were the one who found the bodies?"

The brunette turned around to look at the tall Winchester in his dark federal suit and then to the blue-eyed woman standing by the fireplace as she was taking pictures to pack them in one of the boxes filled with her roommate's belongings.

"There was blood everywhere...and... _other stuff_...I think Alice was already dead," the young woman replied.

"But Russel wasn't?" Sam asked as Kate walked away from the fridge, her black heels clicking on the wooden floor until she stopped by the fireplace.

She gazed over the decorative items settled on the shelf before picking a floral one up to give it a closer look.

"I think he was, mostly… Except... he was still sort of... _chewing_ a little," the roommate said with a little grimace.

With a similar face the brunette settled the floral item back on the shelf and glanced over at Sam to see that he had also a distinctive grimace plastered on his dimpled-face.

"Oh…" Sam let out before exchanging a look with the suited-up brunette. He returned his attention to the blue-eyed woman, "Uh-huh."

Sam then moved his gaze over to the floor nearby the fridge; the spot was stained with blood.

"How do two people even do that – _eat_ each other to death?" The roommate thought out loud.

"That's a really good question," Kate declared.

"Now," Sam turned his head back to the roommate. "The last few days, did you notice her acting _erratically_?"

"How do you mean?" The young woman asked, looking back and forth at the two persons she believed were federal agents.

"Did she seem unusually hostile; maybe a little aggressive?" Kate clarified and the roommate looked at her and shook her head.

"No way," she lightly scoffed. "Alice never drank, never even swore. She was a nice girl. And I'm talking, like, a _nice_ girl – Like she still had her promise ring, if you know what I mean."

"She was a virgin?" Sam asked, pulling the roommate's attention back to him.

"No premarital. I used to wonder how she did it. I mean, you know, _didn't_ do it. I mean… It's so, _so_ great," she said, giving a knowing look at Kate who kept a straight face until she looked over at Sam and saw that he looked slightly embarrassed, which made her let out a light chuckle.

With a sigh, the roommate picked up a fluffy bunny that was on top of Alice's belongings, and said, "It was her first date in months. She was so… So excited."

"Apparently, they were both pretty excited," Sam commented and Kate raised her eyebrows at his pun and gave him a little look, to which he replied with a one-shoulder shrug.

"It's like she was under a spell. I know it sounds silly, but it really feels like she was just… Under a spell…" The roommate sighed and then Sam frowned, shifting his green-hazel gaze to Kate.

The brunette immediately looked away, knowing full well what the possibility of a witch in this case actually meant.

Especially since what happened a couple of weeks ago…

* * *

 _ **A few minutes later.**_

"Is it me or it's definitely up there in the top 10 of the most disgusting and disturbing cases?" Kate said once Sam and she were walking down to the Impala parked in front of the victim's apartment.

"Yeah," Sam just said in a thoughtful tone.

"You can't wrap your head around it, huh?" She asked, her brown eyes roaming over his profile as she hoped that he wasn't thinking about something else… Something like sending her back to Bobby's.

"I'm just wondering if it's…" He sighed and cut himself short, "Nevermind."

Kate slightly frowned but still got in the Impala once she saw him climb in the driver's seat.

Once sitting in the car, she looked over at him and frowned again as she realized he wasn't starting the car.

"What's going on?"

"You know… I've been thinking," he began. "Bobby's not the kind to admit it, but I'm pretty sure he'd like some help, so maybe we could drive you back to his place. It's not that far from here and I'm sure he could use some help –"

"Wait. You're trying to get rid of me?" She interrupted him.

"What? No," he replied unconvincingly.

"You are."

"I'm just saying that Dean and I can deal with, well, with what's happening here," he said, avoiding eye contact at all cost. "And, well, I-I know tomorrow is Valentine's day but –"

"You wanna get me out of this case because you think magic is involved," she interrupted him again.

Sam instantly looked up at her, his bright hazel eyes meeting her brown ones.

"I just think that considering what happened two weeks ago, it's for the best if you're out of this one," he admitted.

"What if I don't step out? You're gonna tell on me?" She asked him. "You're gonna tell Bobby, Dean and everyone else about what happened two weeks ago?"

"That's not what I'm saying," he half-murmured half-sighed. "I just believe that if you're not confronted with magic then it would be… easier for you to move on from it."

"Move on from it?" Kate half-scoffed. "Sam, I'm not some junkie addicted to magic. I'm just trying to figure out how to –" She cut herself short and took a deep breath. "You know what? Let's stop talking about this. I'm not stepping out of this case, and I'm surely not letting you drive me to Bobby's," she declared, looking out the window shield.

Sam watched her for a moment, studying the hard expression that was painted on her cream-white face. Nodding at her stubbornness and at the whole situation, the young man let out a sigh and turned his attention back to the stirring wheel as he started the car and drove away to the motel where Dean had stayed behind to do some research.

He couldn't help but remember what happened two weeks ago when he left Dean to drive to the hospital the innocent they had just saved while he went back to the motel where Kate was staying behind, supposedly doing research….

" _Katie!" Sam had shouted, bursting into her motel room late that night._

 _The room was all dark, so he tried to switch on the light, but nothing happened. He took a couple of steps in and frowned at what he was stepping on. He looked down, and the light coming from three candles that were lightened in the middle of the room made it possible for him to see the shattered glass that was covering the floor._

 _Sam pulled his gun out of his back pocket and walked in, his green hazel eyes roaming the dark room before he bent down to look at the bowl that was next to the candles. He distinguished some dried plants, ash, and a paper with a symbol drawn in blood._

 _He gulped down as a hundred terrible scenarios ran in his mind._

 _Then he saw a drop of blood fall right in front of his eyes._

 _He frowned, stood up and looked up._

 _He felt his heartbeats stop when he found Kate pinned up on the ceiling._

* * *

 _ **Some moment later.**_

The drive down to the motel was quiet. Neither Sam or Kate tried to make some small talk. When they arrived at the motel, there was still some tension between the two friends. As a matter of fact, it had been like that since that incident two weeks ago. They were both aware of that ever-growing thicker tension between them, however none of them had found a way to cut it. It wasn't a question of stubbornness, but rather a question of conviction. Kate was convinced that she had been doing the right thing, and Sam was convinced of otherwise, and with no third party knowing what exactly was the matter, there was surely no way for Sam and Kate to find some common ground.

Sam pushed open the door of the motel room he and his brother had booked in, and he let Kate walk in first.

"Hey," Dean greeted, taking his eyes off the papers he was reading to look over at them from where he was sitting at the table with his feet up.

"Hey," Kate gave a small smile. "You bought food?" She asked as she noticed the bags of fast food settled on the table, right next to his legs.

"Yeah, it might be a bit cold now," he replied before looking over at his little brother who was taking his coat off. "They were out of salad so I got you a double fish burger. Thought it was the closest to your rabbit food."

Sam gave a light snort in response, and Dean returned his gaze to Kate who had just finished unbuttoning her coat. She threw it on one of the two beds and bent down to untie her heels.

Of course, Dean couldn't help but check her out in her tight black skirt.

"You didn't eat?" Sam asked, pulling his brother's attention back to him.

"Mmh?" Dean looked up at Sam who was looking inside the bags. "No. Not yet."

"I need to grab something in my room. I'll be right back," Kate announced, grabbing her heels in one hand and her coat before leaving the two brothers on their own.

"So, um...No EMF, no sulfur," Sam declared while he took the food out of the bags. "Ghost possession and demonic possession are both probably out."

"Hmm," Dean looked up at him, putting the papers down on his legs. "That's where I was puttin' my money."

"Nope."

"Well, what then?" Dean asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Well… I was thinking, maybe witchcraft?"

"Witchcraft?" Dean repeated. "Yeah. That's a possibility. I mean, dude, you didn't see these bodies at the coroner's. These two started eating a-and they just... kept going. I mean, their stomachs were full. Like - like... Thanksgiving-dinner full," Dean gave a little grossed-out face. "Talk about co-dependent."

Sam made a little face and then he moved his gaze to the queen beds, noticing that there was his brother's bag on one of it.

"You're sleeping in here tonight?"

"She didn't sleep last night," Dean declared. "She never does when I'm with her… I think she's too afraid I might have a nightmare and scream in the middle of the night..." He trailed off, the hurt and thoughtful expression on his face not getting unnoticed by his little brother.

"Right," Sam just said with a nod. After a short silence, he cleared his throat and said, "I was thinking, maybe we could send Kate back to Bobby's? At least for this case?"

"Why?" Dean frowned up at his brother who gave him a pointed look in response. "Look, it ain't because we're probably dealing with a witch here that it means she's gotta leave. I know you still don't approve that she went all sister _Halliwell_ back in that shipping container, but…" Dean took his feet off the table, throwing the papers on the spot instead. "If she hadn't done that spell back then, then none of you would be alive today." Sam breathed through his nostrils, looking away. "Besides, if she's with us, I can keep a close eye on her. I promise she'll be a nice girl."

Sam bit his tongue. Dean didn't know about what happened two weeks ago. If he knew, then he would probably have had agreed with Sam's idea of sending Kate away to Bobby's place.

"Alright," Sam sighed, sitting down on the chair across from Dean.

"Okay," Dean nodded before sighing. "So, not much more we can do tonight for the case."

"Yeah, I think I'm just gonna go through some files," Sam replied, unwrapping his fish burger. "So, what you got planned for tomorrow?" Dean gave him a questioning look. "Well, tomorrow is Valentine's day."

"So?" Dean inquired with the same quizzical expression.

"Look, I know that usually on the night before Valentine's Day and _on_ Valentine's Day – your favorite holiday, your _so_ precious 'unattached drifter Christmas'— you're into bars full of lonely women, but it doesn't work this way when you're in a relationship," Sam told him and Dean stared at him with a blank look. "Please, tell me you got something for Kate… At least a box of chocolate?"

"She said she didn't want anything," Dean stated and Sam face palmed.

"Dean, when women say they don't want anything they actually mean otherwise," Sam told him.

"She ain't like other women," Dean declared, grabbing a bag of food.

"Trust me, when it comes to Valentine's Day, they're all the same. No matter what universe they're from," Sam insisted and Dean's brow furrowed as he considered it all.

Right then the door opened and Kate walked in, a notebook in hand, "Alright, so I was thinking; maybe we're dealing with angels here?"

"What?" Dean asked, a bit startled as he looked over at her. She had put her hair up in a messy bun and had taken off her black suit-jacket, leaving herself in the white shirt and black skirt that both fitted her in all the right places.

"Angels," she repeated, joining the brothers at the table. "Maybe it's their work."

"You think they'd get a virgin to be eaten to death?" Sam asked with raised eyebrows.

Kate looked over at him, shrugged and sat down next to Dean as she put down the notebook.

"Wait. The chick was a virgin?" Dean asked, pushing the bag of food towards the brunette.

"Yeah," Kate replied, taking out a burger that she settled in front of Dean before plunging her hand in the bag to take the other burger and the French fries. "You think it's important? Like maybe her _purity_ has to do with what happened?"

"There's a lot of spells that require virgins," Sam stated and Kate looked over at him.

"Except there's nothing that says this case involves _witchcraft_ ," she declared.

"And there's nothing that says this case involves _angels_ ," Sam said in return.

"Except that angels are everywhere nowadays," she said, her tone quite dry.

"And so are demons apparently," he replied and Kate just stared at him as she knew full well what he was subtly hinting at.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, completely oblivious. "I thought you said there was no sulfur?"

"There wasn't… Just nevermind what I said," Sam sighed, looking down at his fish burger.

Kate looked at him and then bit on her bottom lip.

"I'm not really hungry, so, um, I'm gonna leave the research for you and I'm gonna head to bed," she declared in a little voice.

"What?" Dean turned his face to her. "But, I got you your favorite dessert. It's in the fridge."

"You can have it," she gave him a little smile, putting her hand on his shoulder as she stood up. She glanced over at his bag that was on one of the beds. "Besides, you're probably gonna need it since you're gonna spend the night doing research."

Dean didn't say anything because what she had just said was a lie he had been telling her everytime he decided not to book in the same room as her. Because he knew that if he fell asleep next to her she would spend the whole night watching over him, making sure to gently wake him up whenever he started stirring up or frowning at the beginning of a nightmare.

"Alright," Dean just said, looking up at her and slightly frowning at the upset expression painted all over her face. "Want me to walk you to your room?"

"It's just two rooms away," she shook her head, sliding her hand off his shoulder.

Dean silently watched her as she walked out.

Once the door closed behind her, Dean clenched his jaw, a pensive expression filling his eyes for a moment, and then he looked over at Sam, only to find him deeply interested in the burger he had in hand.

Dean sighed, standing up, "Look, I know you didn't like that she had to perform a spell in the shipping container to get you out, but –"

"It's not about what happened in the container – "

"Then what is it about?"

Sam sighed, moving his gaze away.

"Alright, you don't wanna tell me and she doesn't wanna tell me. But, I'm not stupid. I can see there's something. So whatever happened between you two, to make you go from nerdy friends who tell each other nerdy jokes to _this_ – whatever _this_ is – you two fix it before it becomes something that distracts us enough to get us killed in a case," Dean said, grabbing his bag that was on the bed and leaving the room.

At the noise of the door closing, Sam dropped his fish burger on the table and sighed. He looked over at the notebook that Kate had brought and he stared at it, as memories of what happened two weeks ago flooded back to him.

 _That night, the younger Winchester was walking down the hallway of that shabby motel they had booked in. He had left Dean to drive to the hospital the victim they had saved from the monster of that week. He was going to announce the great news to Kate but when he got a few feet from her room's door he saw something that stopped him in track. The windows of her room were all smashed broken. His eyes widened and he immediately rushed to the room. He tried to open the door by turning the doorknob but it was locked so without a second thought he kicked the door open and burst into her room._

" _Katie!" He shouted._

 _The room was all dark and the switch on didn't work. He took a couple of steps in and frowned at what he was walking on. He looked down and the lights that came from three candles in the middle of the room helped him see that the floor was covered with shattered glass._

 _He swiftly pulled out his gun and walked in, scanning the room with his eyes before he bent down to look at the bowl that was settled near the candles. In the bowl, there were some dried plants, ash and near it there was a paper with a symbol that was clearly drawn in blood._

 _He gulped down as he couldn't help but imagine the worst._

 _Then, a drop of blood fell right in front of him, landing on the dried plants. He frowned, slowly stood up and looked up._

 _He felt his heartbeats stop when he found Kate pinned up on the ceiling._

" _Katie…" He breathed out in a trembling voice._

" _Sam…" She was sobbing and then she exclaimed, "Watch out!"_

 _Sam instantly looked to his sides and found a good-looking, red-haired woman standing right next to him._

" _Boo," she wickedly smiled to him before blinking her eyes black._

 _Sam tried to quickly reach out for the demon knife that was in his jacket's inside pocket when the demon flew him to the opposite wall with a nod of her head._

" _Sam Winchester," the demon articulated before laughing. "I have to be one fuckin' lucky bitch! Here, I thought that all I would have tonight was a decent meal when this stupid brunette summoned me," she said, walking towards Sam. "And, I was kinda okay with this. I mean I was just going to teach her a lesson about how I'm not the kind of demon you make deals with, I'm not a fuckin' salesman like my brothers and sisters waiting in all these crossroads. Once the lesson over, I would have started eating her… alive," she looked up at Kate who was crying. "But then… Then, I got so much better! I got Sam fuckin' Winchester!" She laughed again. "You have no idea how happy my Lord is going to be when I'll bring you to him."_

" _Let her go," Sam exclaimed. "You want me to come, then let her go!"_

" _Aww. You think I'm gonna give you some sort of choice?" She gently ran her finger along his cheek. "That is so adorable."_

" _Ex… Exorcizamus te, omn - omnis immundus spiritus," Kate started in between sobs._

" _No!" The demon shouted, turning around and flashing her black eyes at her._

" _Omnis sa-satanica potestas," Kate tried to keep on chanting the exorcism._

" _I said_ _ **no**_ _!" The demon made a movement with her hand and Kate fell right onto the floor._

" _Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii," Sam continued and the demon found herself unable to move from her spot while Sam wasn't pinned on the wall anymore. "Omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica…"_

 _Kate lifted her head and looked at Sam as he finished the exorcism and right when the body of the red-haired vessel was going to fall on the floor, he caught her in his arms. He checked the pulse, only to find that the person was dead; probably already dead a long time ago. He sighed and looked over at Kate, their gazes immediately meeting, and he knew instantly. He knew what she had done and he knew that she wasn't even sorry about it._

* * *

 _ **The next day.**_

It was around nine in the morning when the trio arrived at the local morgue after they got a call about two other weird deaths. Sam was quite tired. When Dean left the room, the younger Winchester spent a good few hours doing research, in vain, leaving him just a couple of hours to catch some sleep. As he glanced down at Kate he realized that she actually looked more tired than he did, which made him wonder if she got any sleep at all. They were walking down the hall when Kate yawned, and Sam saw Dean instantly turn his head to her.

"You tired?"

"A little bit," she replied. "I had a hard time falling asleep last night."

"You should have put on the History Channel, there was a long and boring show about all of the freakin' French revolutions," Dean said in return and she scoffed.

Sam frowned as he realized that when Dean left the room the night before, it wasn't to go find Kate in her room, but instead to get his own room.

Right then a bald man in a suit passed by them, and Sam slowed down his steps as he felt something weird happen to him. He half-turned to watch the man, his brow knitted together, he glanced down at the briefcase the latter was carrying. Sam didn't know what was happening to him, but he could hear his own heartbeats...

 _Or was it the bald man's heartbeats?_

It couldn't be...

Still, Sam felt something unnatural gripping him from inside and making him want to follow the man…

"Sam," Dean called, causing Sam to immediately turn his head to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sam breathed out.

"You're shaking," Kate stated in a little voice, her eyes glancing down at his hands that were slightly trembling.

"Uh," he coughed, clearing his throat. "I'm fine."

Dean scanned him from the top of his head to his feet, "You sure? You can go back to the motel – "

"I'm fine," Sam repeated in a more convincing voice. "Let's go," he said, walking ahead of Kate and Dean who watched him go before exchanging a look of concern.

It was only a matter of a couple of minutes before they reached the coroner's office. They walked in and found a plump old man with a white beard wearing a white lab coat and glasses.

"Agent Marley, you just can't stay away," the man declared as Dean walked towards him, closely followed by Sam and Kate.

Dean chuckled, "Heard you tagged another double suicide."

"Well, I just finished closing them up," the man replied, his eyes going back and forth between Sam and Kate.

"Doctor Corman, these are my partners, special agent Cliff and special agent Cherry," Dean said, gesturing to Sam and then to Kate.

" _Jerry_. Special agent Jerry," Kate corrected, causing Dean to turn his head to her and raise his eyebrows at her, a smug smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, agent _Jerry_ ," Doctor Corman smiled, shaking her hand. "Agent Cliff," he shook Sam's. "I've finished my prelims," he said, taking off his white lab coat to hang it up on a coat rack. "I pulled the organ sets and sent off the tox samples."

"Great. You mind if we take a look at the bodies?" Sam inquired.

"Not at all," Doctor Corman replied. "But, you'll have to do it on your own, I gotta go. And, like I said," he opened the fridge to reveal boxes of organs and Kate instantly made a face. "Their... Good-and-plenties are already tupperwared."

"Super," Sam commented sarcastically.

"Are you alright, Agent Jerry?" Doctor Corman said as he noticed the pale grimace on the brunette's face.

"Mmhm," she slowly nodded.

"Alright, so, just leave the keys with Marty up front," the doctor said as he threw the keys at Dean and then grabbed his brown coat and hat. "And please, refrigerate after opening," he smiled at them and then threw a glance at Kate who had remained still in front of the fridge, staring at the boxes. He frowned and looked at Dean, "Agent Marley," he whispered to him, nodding his head at the door he was walking towards. Dean followed him, his eyebrows raised in question. "Maybe you shouldn't let Agent Jerry get too close to the boxes. She looks a bit as though she's going to vomit."

Dean glanced over his shoulder, only to find Kate still in the same position while Sam had just taken off his jacket and was rolling up his sleeves.

"Yeah, I think that's a good advice," Dean said, returning his gaze to the old man who gave him a nod and a friendly tap on the arm before walking away.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Sam and Dean were still sitting across from each other, examining the few organs that they took out the boxes. Although he had gloves on, Dean, with a grimace on his face, used only the tips of his fingers to take the organs and have a look at them. As for Kate, she was sitting a few feet away, studying the doctor's reports because the pictures of the organs were more bearable to see than the actual organs.

"Hey," Dean hissed to his brother, pushing towards him a box with a heart in it. He then whispered, "Be my Valentine?"

Sam gave him a look, and Dean sighed. He glanced over at Kate and opened his mouth to call her when his brother coughed to get his attention. Dean looked at him and Sam shook his head, silently telling him to not make that joke to the brunette – especially not after she almost threw up when she opened a first box earlier.

Dean let out another sigh, pulling the box with the heart away when Sam stopped him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second," the younger brother said, pulling Kate's attention to them. She looked over at them, her brow furrowed as Sam pulled the box to him and quickly opened a second container in which there was another heart. He put them side-by-side and frowned. "Look, these hearts both have identical marks. Check this out…"

Kate looked down at the report and turned the pages until she got to the pages with the pictures of the hearts. She squinted her eyes down at them, trying to see whatever Sam was talking about.

"It looks like some kind of letter," Sam continued. "Oh… _Oh no_."

"What?" Dean frowned up at him.

"He's right," Kate commented in a low voice from her chair as she tried to figure out what these sort of letters could be.

"I think it's Enochian," Sam stated.

"What?" Kate said out loud, leaping out of her chair to go to them.

"You mean like angel scratches?" Dean asked before turning to Kate with a hand held up towards her in a stop gesture. "You stay there. We don't need any puking now." Kate bit on her bottom lip as she stopped in the middle of the room. Dean turned his attention back to Sam. "So you think it's like the tagging on our ribs?"

"I don't know," Sam responded. "But, maybe Kate was right. Maybe we're dealing with angels."

"Ah, hell," Dean sighed out loud, taking his gloves off and moving back onto his chair.

"We should call Castiel to make sure," Kate declared.

"Right," Dean agreed, looking down at the hearts.

Kate pulled her phone out of her skirt's pocket and made the call. "Castiel? Hey, it's Kate… Um, well I know you're busy, like _really_ busy, and you're probably –" Kate stopped talking and looked down at her cellphone, an expression of disbelief on her creamy-white face.

"What's wrong?" Sam and Dean asked in sync.

"He hung up on me," she said more to herself than to the brothers' question.

"What?" Dean frowned. "Come on," he sighed, standing up and pulling his own cellphone out of his pocket. "Yeah, Cas? We need you here, man… Yeah, we're, um… room… Which room are we in?" He looked at Kate.

"He _hung_ _up_ on me," the brunette repeated still struck with disbelief.

"Room 31-c," Sam told his brother.

"Room 31-c, basement level in St. James medical center," Dean told the angel, and as he turned around, he found the trench-coated angel standing right in front of him.

"I'm there now," the angel replied, holding his phone against his ear.

"Yeah, I-I get that," the green-eyed hunter replied, a bit uneasy with the way the angel was staring at him.

"I'm gonna hang up now."

"Right," Dean replied in a little voice while the angel kept on staring at him.

"You said you needed me?"

" _We,_ " Dean clarified.

Castiel squinted his eyes at the hunter and then looked at his right, to see Sam and Kate watching them.

"Oh. Sam. Kate," the angel greeted with a solemn voice and a nod of his head.

"You _hung up_ on me," Kate accused in still a tone of disbelief.

"You were rambling on," Castiel replied, once again taking aback the young woman.

"What? I was trying to be polite, I didn't want to order you down here," she replied. "And besides, I-I don't ramble on," she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Right," Castiel simply said before turning back to Dean. "So, what do you need me for?"

"Here," Sam said, pointing down at the two boxes. "There are some particular marks. I think they are Enochian marks."

Castiel went to him and grabbed the two hearts in his bare hands, not caring to put on any glove;

Dean went to Kate, putting his hand on her lower back to make her walk with him towards the two others, but she stayed still.

"I didn't ramble on," she murmured, nearly pouting.

"Of course, you don't," Dean told her, gently rubbing her back, and she frowned up at him.

"I _don't_ ," she insisted.

"That's what I said," he simply replied.

"Wait," she said, squinting her eyes up at him. "You think I do, don't you?"

"What? No," Dean shook his head. He glanced over at Sam and Castiel to see them focused on the hearts, and then he turned his attention back to Kate. "Cherry, you don't ramble on. But you do freak out for nothing sometimes. Kinda like right now."

"I… I don't freak out," she replied, again nearly pouting.

"You're right, Sam," Castiel stated, causing Kate and Dean to stop their conversation and look over at them. "These are angelic marks."

"So, what are they? I mean, what do they mean?" Sam asked.

"It's a mark of union. This man and woman were intended to mate," Castiel explained, causing Kate to raise her eyebrows.

"Wait, so when two people want to, well, to shag, their hearts get some kind of temporary marks? Is it like nightclub hand stamps only for a specific kind of fun?" Kate inquired.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean by nightclub hand stamps," Castiel replied, frowning at her.

"It doesn't matter," Dean remarked. "What matters is _who_ put them there?"

"Well, your people call them 'Cupid'," the angel responded.

"A what?" The three hunters asked in sync.

"What human myth has mistaken for 'Cupid' is actually a lower order of angel. Technically it's a cherub, third-class," Castiel explained.

"Wait, you're actually saying ' _Cupid'_ exists?" Kate asked, her eyes round as she took one step towards the angel, causing Dean to drop his hand off her lower back.

"There are actually dozens of them," Castiel declared. "They're all over the world."

"And they are cherub?" Dean asked.

"Yes."

"You mean the little flying fat kid in diapers?" Dean asked while the two others just stared, still not believing what they had just heard.

"They're not incontinent," Castiel said.

"Okay, anyway. So, what you're saying –" Dean began.

"What I'm saying is a Cupid has gone rogue and we have to stop him – before he kills again!" Castiel exclaimed in a commanding tone.

"Naturally," Sam drawled out, realizing that they were now working to kill the creature which mission was supposed to be a spreading of love.

"Wait…" Kate started in a little voice, biting down on her lip. "Yesterday, we found a couple who apparently were going to have an intercourse –"

"' _Intercourse'_? Really?" Dean interrupted her, looking down at the brunette.

Kate lightly rolled her eyes at him and then took a breath before she continued what she was saying, "That couple, they, um, they ate each other to death… Do you think, do you think it's Cupid, too?"

"If their intention was to mate, then yes, I imagine you will find similar marks on their hearts as well," Castiel replied.

"Poor girl," Kate whispered, looking away as she remembered all the nice things the roommate had said to Sam and Kate about that girl the day before.

Kate felt a hand come back to her lower back and gently rub it, she instantly knew it was Dean. She looked at him and he gave her a gentle smile as he said, "Come on, we've got work to do."

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

"I thought we had work to do," Kate declared as Dean parked the Impala in front of the Motel instead of on the Motel's parking lot.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, turning to look at the brunette who was sitting on the backseat, behind Sam's seat and right next to Castiel. "You guys go and find out more about Cupid and where to find him."

"I am already quite sure of where to find him," Castiel stated, leaning to the side so that the green-eyed hunter could see him more.

"Yeah, well, ' _quite sure'_ ain't ' _sure'_ , man," Dean declared in reply. "Besides we still gotta find how to gank him."

"Cupids are angels, Dean," Sam reminded him. "I'm pretty sure an angel blade will be enough."

"Same, Sammy. ' _Pretty sure'_ ain't ' _sure'_ ," Dean replied, causing Sam to roll his eyes at him. "Guys, I gotta go check that thing at the police station," Sam gave his brother a suspicious look. "And meanwhile you guys can go do some locating mojo spell –" Dean was interrupted by his brother's obnoxious cough. He threw a glance at him and continued, "Yeah, um, maybe not that." Kate looked at the back of Sam's head and pressed her lips together and just opened the door to walk out. "Kaitlin –"

"See you later," the brunette said in almost a muttering tone as she closed the door and made her way towards her motel room.

There was a short silence as Dean stared at the empty seat.

"Dean," Sam began in a little voice.

"You fix it," Dean said, cutting him short. "Whatever it is between you two, you fix it."

Sam wanted to retort, he wanted to tell Dean that there was no way she would listen to him, but instead he decided to keep quiet. He gave a little nod and got out of the car, soon followed by a confused angel.

"Sam, what is going on?" The angel asked, but the young man didn't reply as his mind got lost in the last time he tried to fix things with the brunette…

" _I didn't do anything wrong, Sam!" Kate had shouted as they were in the hallway of the motel they were staying days ago._

" _You summoned a demon! A freakin' demon," he had told her, and in response she had clenched her jaw, looking away. "That is all kind of wrong."_

" _You're a hypocrite," she had half-whispered._

" _Pardon?"_

" _You're a hypocrite," she had repeated, her voice stronger and firmer as her eyes stared right into his. "You're all hypocrite. You tell me that magic is bad, that I shouldn't get close to any of it, but you guys use it all the time! What do you think a devil's trap is? Or that line of salt that you trace along exits? Or that tattoo I've got to prevent anybody from seeing my soul from another universe? What do you think all of this is? I'll tell you: it's magic!"_

" _It's not the same kind of magic," Sam had replied. "I've already told you this. The few magic tricks and spells that we use, it's all innocent, and we don't use it to summon a freaking demon in the middle of the night – "_

" _I didn't know it would bring such a demon! The spell wasn't supposed to do that – "_

" _And here you got it! That's exactly what comes with magic! Things that happen are unexpected and terrible, and the consequences are always the worse kind of ones. Don't you realize how lucky you were that night? What if I had gone to the hospital with Dean? Huh? The demon would have killed you, Kate!"_

 _Right then a passer-by walked down the hallway, throwing a curious look at the two friends. Kate decided that it was the right time to put an end in the conversation as she left for her room._

* * *

After going to the reception in order to get the number of the room Dean had booked in on his own the night before, Sam headed for Kate's room. He sighed when he approached her door. He ran his fingers through his hair as he recalled the smashed windows that he had found the last time he went to see Kate in her motel room.

He raised his hand up to knock on the door when it suddenly opened.

"Oh!" Kate quietly exclaimed as she was surprised to find him at her door. "You didn't have to come, I just wanted to grab some stuff," she said, glancing down at the notebook and books in her arms.

"Um, yeah, I…" Sam trailed off. "I told Cas to go wait in my room, but I… Can I talk to you?"

"Are you gonna try to talk me out of this case?" She inquired.

"No," he gently said.

Kate slightly frowned, her brown eyes traveling over his dimpled-face to see a deeply expression of gentleness mixed with sadness that she hadn't seen him give her for a couple of weeks now.

She simply nodded and stepped back to let him in before closing the door.

Sam silently walked in, he couldn't help but roam the room with his eyes.

"There's no magic ritual being done here if that's what you're looking for," the brunette said as she stood with her back to the closed door.

Sam turned around and looked at her with an apologetic face, "I know. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking for that. I was just… looking."

Kate bit on her bottom lip, nodding her head. "So, what do you wanna talk about?"

"Dean is worried," he declared.

"Dean is always worried," Kate replied as though stating the obvious.

"I suppose, yeah. But this time, it's different," Sam said. "He noticed that you and I are not getting along lately. And well, he says he's worried that it'll interfere with our job and our safety, but I think it's more than that. I think he doesn't like seeing us in this kind of situation... And the truth is that I get him, because I don't like this situation."

"I don't like it either," Kate admitted in nearly whisper.

"Then why don't we get out of it?"

"You know why," Kate sighed, walking to the tiny round table that was across the king size bed.

"No. I don't." Sam replied as she put the books down on the table. "All I know is that you've been going down a very dark path and you don't wanna hear me out when I'm trying to help you out of it."

Kate turned to look at him and shook her head. " _That's_ exactly why we can't get out of this situation." Sam furrowed his brow at her. "You keep on saying that the problem is me not listening to you and me playing with witchcraft. But you've never asked me why I'm doing all of this."

"I know why," he stated. "I know you're trying to help Dean –"

"I'm not trying to _help_ Dean," she interrupted him. "I'm trying to save him before his memories of Hell kill him. I know Castiel got rid of the flashbacks, but the memories are still there. And they come back every time he goes to sleep."

"I know," Sam murmured.

"H-he tried not to fall sleep," she declared and Sam's brow knitted as he looked at her. "When you guys came back to Bobby's after all that mess back in Crisfield with Matt and Maya, he spent the two first nights wide awake. He couldn't sleep. And I was right next to him, and I couldn't sleep either," she continued, her voice slightly cracking. "And then, the third night, he was _so_ exhausted that he fell asleep. But, I didn't. Because he needed someone to wake him up if his nightmares were too unbearable. And they were." Kate paused, looking away as she felt tears forming in her eyes. "I haven't been doing research of magic and spells for fun, Sam. I've been doing this because it's the last option we've got to wipe away all of these memories that are killing him."

"Katie," Sam approached the brunette. "You think I haven't been looking for a way to erase every trace of his memories from Hell? Back when you were with Chronos and… And our mom… Dean got flashbacks and nightmares from Hell. We gave him that mixture Pamela left for you that time, and it worked for a while. It did. But it didn't last. His memories came back and nothing could give him peace. Absolutely nothing," he took a deep breath and stepped back to sit down on the edge of the bed. "So, I called Maya. I called her because I knew she's always been really good at magic. White _and_ Dark magic. She didn't find anything that wouldn't damage Dean's mind." Kate watched him silently. "It wasn't the first time I turned to her, you know. When Dean was in Hell, I was a wreck and… And I wanted to get him back, I _had to_ get him out of there. So… So I tried… I tried everything. I asked her help but even she couldn't help me get him back… That was before Ruby came in the picture and helped me in her way."

"But Sam," Kate began in a soft voice as she walked to the bed and sat down next to him. "We can't give up just because you didn't find anything. W-we have to keep on looking."

"I know," Sam whispered, looking down at his feet.

Kate remained quiet for a moment, watching his profile as she felt bad for the way she had been acting these past couple of weeks.

"So… What do we do now?" She inquired in almost a whisper, resting her hands flat on her skirt.

"Go to room 230 tonight," he told her.

"Pardon?"

"If Dean doesn't join you in your room once we're done with Cupid, then, go to room 230," he clarified, looking up at her to see the confusion on her face. "Dean slept in there, last night. And I'm pretty sure he's gonna sleep in there tonight as well." He paused and rubbed his hands together. "Something is nagging him. More than usual. And, I'm pretty sure it's not about us, or about Hell, or even about the Apocalypse."

"Alright," Kate nodded. "And, um, what about you and me? Are we gonna get out this _situation_?"

"Are you gonna stop doing magic?"

"I've stopped… Ever since that night all I'm doing is research."

"Research for a spell?" He said and she looked down. "It's not with magic that you're gonna help… that you're gonna _save_ Dean."

"But, magic makes freakin' teleportation possible… So if there's a spell for that, then there must be a spell for wiping away some memories," Kate explained. "I just… We can't give up, Sam. We can't give up and let him keep going through that. I know that Maya told you she didn't find anything that wouldn't damage Dean's mind, but there has to be a way to counter this." Sam looked at her, his eyes seemed to analyze her face. "Look, I know she's been MIA since her mother's death, but if we could just call her, maybe we could work on this together – "

"Did Dean tell you how he got all these memories back?" He asked her all of sudden.

"Um, no," Kate replied hesitantly. Sam's gaze went to the tiny table as he slowly nodded his head. "Sam… Is there something I should know?"

"Maya gave them back to him," Sam simply replied, freezing Kate to spot.

"W-what?" She breathed out.

"Matt told me that Dean was threatening to put Maya's mother's life in danger if she didn't let him get out of the boat to come and look for us," Sam explained. "So, Maya panicked, and, well, she lost control. One minute she was only mentionning Hell, the other she was somehow hitting him with his memories of Hell. Matt told me that she didn't do it on purpose. She just lost control." He turned to Kate and sighed. "But, that's it. That's exactly what magic does when you start getting too involved with it. It makes you lose control, and there are consequences. Terrible consequences."

Kate didn't know what to say. She was truly taken aback, and even shocked, that Maya was in fact the reason why Dean was going through hell these past weeks. They had risked their lives to help her and in return she had revived within Dean his worst memories of Hell. He had managed to push these memories as further as possible in the back of his mind, to the point of not having a nightmare every night, but now… Now it had been weeks that these vivid memories kept coming back in order to hunt him.

"I know that it's hard to watch him go through all that, but as you told me once, all we can do, or rather all we _have_ _to_ do is be there for him," Sam continued, his eyes looking right into hers.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, causing them both to turn their gazes to it. Kate sighed as she stood up and went for the door.

"Good afternoon, Miss," the young employee of the hotel greeted. "I have here what you asked for."

"You can keep the bowl and the glasses, I'll just take this," Kate replied and Sam's brow furrowed with confusion as he stood up from the bed to see what the interaction was about.

It was then that Kate closed the door and turned around. Sam's eyebrows lifted up on his forehead as he saw what she was holding.

"You bought yourself a bottle of champagne?"

"I didn't buy it," she said as she walked towards the mini fridge near the tiny table. She opened it and Sam was even more surprised to see two other bottles in there. "There's a special offer this week since it's Valentine's week. You can get a free champagne a day."

"And, um, why do you need all these bottles?" He asked as he watched her put the new addition in the mini fridge before closing it.

"I don't. But, it's free," she shrugged.

Sam looked at her and chuckled, shaking his head at her answer.

Right then Castiel appeared in the middle of the room, startling the two hunters.

"Jeez, Castiel!" Kate half-shouted, resting her hand above her chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to startle you," the angel apologized. "I was just wondering what was taking you two so long. We have a murderous Cupid to catch."

"Right," Sam nodded. "Sorry. We were just… Nevermind."

"Is everything okay?" Castiel inquired, looking back and forth at Sam and Kate.

Sam looked over at the brunette, not sure of what answer he could give the angel, when Kate eventually replied.

"Yeah, everything's okay," Kate said before moving her gaze to Sam.

He gave her a little smile that she instantly returned.

"Let's go. We've got work to do," Sam declared, walking to the door.

* * *

 _ **Moments later.**_

Around six in the afternoon, the three hunters followed the angel as he led them to a restaurant in which he was certain there was the Cupid they were looking for. Sam and Castiel sat on one side of the table while Dean and Kate sat opposite to them. The Winchesters and Kate had kept on their FBI clothes since the morning, but Kate was getting tired of her high heels so once they finished ordering their food, she slipped them off, which made Dean give a faint smile; the only smile he had made since the morning at the morgue.

It was all rather quiet with Sam and Dean lowly discussing on what the Cupid would look like, Kate trying to discreetly rub her in-pain feet, and Castiel focused on watching everything and everyone in the restaurant – to the point that a couple asked to be moved to another table.

It wasn't long until the waitress brought them all their food. A cheeseburger for Dean, a salad for Sam and a pasta salad for Kate.

"So, what, you just happen to know he likes the cosmos at this place?" Dean said to Castiel once the waitress walked off.

"This place is a nexus of human reproduction," Castiel replied while Sam and Kate started eating and Dean put ketchup on his cheeseburger. "It's exactly the kind of… Of garden the Cupid will come to… to pollinate."

Kate put a large fork of pasta in her mouth and started to chew, passively staring at the angel.

"Wait a minute," Sam said, causing Kate to look at him and see that he was talking to his brother. "You're not hungry?"

Kate stopped chewing and turned her face to look at Dean as she swallowed down her food.

"No," Dean simply replied. Kate frowned, glancing down at the cheeseburger before lifting her brown eyes to scan his profile, which got him to move his green eyes to her. "What?" He looked back and forth at Kate and Sam, and said, "I'm not hungry."

"Then you're not gonna finish that?" Castiel asked, surprising the hunters as they had never seen him eat or drink. The angel took Dean's plate and then grabbed the cheeseburger in his hands, ready to take a large bite when he stopped and put down the cheeseburger. He moved his gaze towards a couple at a table across the room and said, "He's here."

"Where?" Sam asked scanning the room with his eyes while Kate's eyes went back to looking at Dean's profile. "I don't see anything."

"There," Castiel stated, his blue eyes focused on a couple that were starting to make out on a booth.

"You mean the same-side-of-the-booth couple over there?" Dean asked, causing Kate to stop staring at him and just move her attention to the couple.

"Meet me in the back," Castiel said before vanishing away.

"Jeez," Kate sighed. "I thought we told him not to do that in public."

"Let's go," Sam said as Dean and he stood up.

"One second," Kate told them as she slipped her feet back in her shoes.

Once her shoes on, the brunette stood up and followed the two brothers. She couldn't help but throw a glance at the cheeseburger Dean had left untouched. Sam was right; something was nagging at Dean, and it wasn't about Hell, nor was it about the Apocalypse. There was something else. Something she was determined to figure out.

* * *

Once the trio arrived in the backroom, they found their angelic friend standing with his hand up.

"Cas, where is he?" Sam asked.

"I have him tethered," Castiel replied. Kate tried to make one step towards the angel, but Dean gripped her wrist to make her step back, which she did without taking her eyes off whatever Castiel was doing. "Zoda kama mahrana. Manifest yourself."

"So, where is he?" Dean asked.

Right then, Cupid appeared behind him and grabbed him in a hug that took Dean off the floor and got him to drop his grasp around Kate's wrist.

"Oof!" Dean exclaimed as they all turned to him.

"Here I am!" Cupid exclaimed with a grin.

Sam, who was standing behind Cupid, had big wide eyes as he had a view on the naked butt of the cherub. As for Kate she stared at Dean and Cupid with round eyes, not knowing what to do.

"Help!" Dean yelped out, and Kate looked at Castiel for him to do something.

"Oh, help _is_ on the way," Cupid replied and Kate moved her gaze back to the cherub who was squeezing Dean. "Yes, it is. Yes, it is." He stopped when he saw Castiel. "Hello, you!"

He dropped Dean and made his way to Castiel.

"Oh God," Kate let out as she saw that the cherub wasn't wearing any kind of diaper as Sam and Dean were discussing about earlier. _No_. He was stark naked.

She had a grimace on her face as she watched him hug Castiel as tightly as he had just hugged Dean.

"This is Cupid?" Dean asked, an even more pronounced grimace on his face than on the brunette's as he realized that he had just been hugged by a naked man.

"Yes," Castiel replied.

Cupid then dropped Castiel on the floor and turned around, his gaze immediately landing on the taller Winchester.

"And look at you, huh?" Cupid exclaimed with a big smile.

"No," Sam firmly said.

"Yes!" Cupid chuckled, walking towards him.

Sam turned away, ready to get out of the room if it meant not getting hugged by a big naked man.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Cupid kept saying as he appeared right in front of Sam and gave him one of his tight hugs.

"Is this a fight?" Dean asked Castiel, gesturing towards the cherub. "Are we in a fight?"

"This is… their handshake," Castiel replied, advancing so that he could stand next to the green-eyed hunter.

"I don't like it," Dean stated.

"No one likes it," Castiel responded.

"I don't wanna be hugged," Kate declared, feeling pretty uncomfortable with the way things were going.

"And finally," Cupid said, letting go of Sam. "You."

He walked towards Kate who instantly brought her finger up and firmly said, "You hug me, I chop it off."

Cupid furrowed his brow, looking down at the male reproductive organ of his vessel while Sam and Dean raised their eyebrows in surprise of what she had just said.

"Why so much violence when your eyes are full of affection?" Cupid asked, a light pout on his face as he slowly approached her.

"You're mistaking discomfort with affection," Kate stated, taking another step back.

"I'm sure I'm not!" He grinned, opening his arms wide to wrap them around her.

"Okay, no, no, no!" Dean exclaimed, quickly moving in between them. "The girl says _no_ , you respect that."

A thoughtful expression appeared on Cupid's face, and then he took a deep breath as he stepped back and said in a sigh, "You're right."

"I said ' _no'_ ," Sam exclaimed.

"Right," Cupid nodded, turning to him. "I should have respected that, too. I just… I just hug people to say 'hi'…" He turned to the trench-coated angel, and said, "Castiel, you know that?"

"I do," the angel replied. "What I don't know is why you are doing this."

"You're not talking about the hugs anymore, are you?" Cupid said, seeming truly oblivious as he made his way to Castiel.

"Your targets – the ones you've marked – They're slaughtering each other."

"What? They are?" Cupid asked, sounding really taken aback by the news.

"Listen, birthday suit," Dean said. "We know, okay? We know you been flittin' around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other!"

"What we don't know is _why_ ," Castiel insisted.

"You think that _I_ – Well, uh...I don't know what to say," Cupid cried, walking away.

"Wait… Is he actually crying?" Dean asked from where they were standing, a couple of feet away from the cherub.

"I think he is," Kate replied, throwing glances at the naked man, while making sure not to look too low. "Should, um, should somebody maybe... go talk to him?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dean nodded. He turned to the dark-haired angel and said, "Give 'em hell, Cas."

"But Kate is the one who suggested the idea," Castiel remarked.

"Exactly, I suggested the idea," Kate said. "Now, someone else has to carry it out."

"And who better than a fellow angel, huh?" Dean added to Castiel who sighed and walked off towards the crying cherub.

"Um... look. We didn't mean to, um..." The trench-coated angel turned around to the three hunters, to find them encouraging him to go ahead. "Um, to hurt your feelings."

Cupid instantly turned around and hugged Castiel.

"Ugh!"

"Gosh, he really never stops with his hugs," Kate remarked in a whisper while Sam and Dean grimaced at the hug.

"Love is more than a word to me, you know. I love _love_. I love it! And if that's wrong, I don't want to be right!"

"Yes, yes. Of course," Castiel replied, gently tapping on the cherub's back. "I, uh...I have no idea what you're saying."

"I was just on my appointed rounds," Cupid said, pulling away from Castiel. "Whatever my targets do after that that's nothing to do with me. I- I was following my orders. Please brother. Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see."

Castiel remained quiet for a few seconds while the three others stared at them. And then he turned around and eventually said, "He's telling the truth."

"Jiminy Christmas! Thank you!" Cupid exclaimed with joy and relief.

"Alright, so back to square one," Kate sighed, throwing her arms in the air.

"Wait, wait, you said – You said you were just following orders?" Dean asked the cherub.

"Mm-hmm," Cupid nodded.

"Whose orders?" Dean demanded in a grave tone as Sam and Kate looked at him.

"Whose?" Cupid laughed. "Heaven, silly. Heaven."

"Why does Heaven care if Harry meets Sally?" Dean asked, his brow furrowed.

"Oh, mostly they don't," Cupid replied. "You see there are different categories when it comes to love and people. For instance, some souls are magnets, like yours, honey," he said, pointing at Kate.

"Y-you can see my soul?" Kate asked, afraid that her tattoo wasn't hiding her soul anymore.

"Oh no, I can't, but I know who you are," Cupid smiled.

"What do you mean her soul's a _magnet_?" Dean frowned.

"Well, there are some special souls scattered in all the universes. Those souls are strong, some stronger than others, that to the point of making their bodies perfect vessels," Cupid explained. "They repel from some souls and are attracted to other souls, which is why they're called magnets. Finally, their purpose is to keep the universes in balance."

Kate frowned, "Wait… Does that mean that me being here, in this universe, it means I'm putting all the universes in danger?"

"No, cutie-pie, your presence here isn't putting any universe in danger," he replied in a reassuring tone. "As I was saying there are different categories when it comes to love and to people. But, at the end, it's really all up to the people, if they're ready to cross continents, oceans, or _universes_ to be with that special one."

Kate looked away as she felt her cheeks warm at that statement. She was certain that some pairs of eyes were looking at her, but she didn't dare look at any of her friends to check if she was right. She deeply hoped she was wrong.

"Also, within these categories of people, there are some certain bloodlines that stand out. Certain bloodlines and certain destinies," Cupid continued. "Oh like yours!" He exclaimed, waving his hand at Sam and Dean.

"What?" Sam inquired.

"Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester – A very big deal upstairs! Top priority arrangement," Cupid stated.

"Are you saying that you fixed up our parents?" Dean asked in a tone that made Kate realized he really wasn't happy about what he was hearing.

"Well, not me, but... Yeah," Cupid smiled. "Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them – Perfect couple!"

"Perfect?"

"Yeah!"

"Dean," Kate started in a little voice but the green-eyed hunter didn't hear her as he was too busy glaring at the naked angel.

"They're dead!" Dean exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but... the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Some people are meant to be, and others are meant to be _because_ it's the orders. It doesn't lessen the fact that they're meant to be. And your parents were _meant_ to be." Cupid explained before he started singing. "A match made in heaven- heaven!"

With his eyes still glaring at Cupid and his jaw set, Dean threw a strong punch right in the face of Cupid.

The elder Winchester ended up hurting his hand more than hurting the angel's face, and everyone else just stared at him with big round eyes.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean shouted as he turned around, rubbing his knuckles with his left hand.

Cupid made a sad face that Kate caught on before he suddenly vanished away.

Dean spun around and frowned, "Where is he? Where did he go?"

"I believe you upset him," Castiel simply stated.

"Upset him?!" Dean exclaimed and Sam walked to his brother, passing by Kate who was watching Dean with a shocked and puzzled expression.

"Dean, enough!" Sam told him.

"What?" Dean frowned at him.

"You just punched a Cupid," Sam stated.

"I punched a dick!" Dean retorted.

Sam turned to look at Castiel and Kate. The expression on Kate's face made him return his attention on Dean.

"Um...Are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately or not?" He asked him.

Dean half-glared at his brother and firmly said, "Or not."

He didn't give the chance for anything else to be said as he immediately walked away, leaving Sam, Kate and Castiel to worry about him.

* * *

 _ **A few moments later.**_

It was slightly raining when Sam and Kate arrived in front of the motel they were staying at. After Dean punched Cupid in the face, Castiel didn't take long to disappear into thin air, leaving Sam and Kate to find out on their own that Dean had left the restaurant with the Impala without even waiting for any of them. Sam and Kate ended up taking a taxi driven by an old man who wouldn't stop saying how cute of a couple they made – no matter how much they denied being one.

Kate walked out of the taxi, her brown eyes instantly landing on the Impala that was parked in the parking lot. She turned to look at Sam as he finished paying the taxi driver who told them to be safe but still enjoy their evening since it was Valentine's evening.

"Which room did you say he'd be in?" She asked Sam once the taxi drove away.

"Maybe we should check in our respective rooms first?" The tall man suggested.

"After the way he stormed out of there and left us behind? No, I'm 200% sure he's not in any of our rooms," she replied.

"Right," Sam sighed. "Room 230."

She nodded, and spun around, immediately heading for the room.

It didn't take long for Kate to get to Dean's room. She could see the indoor lights around the closed curtains of the windows on each side of the door. She didn't knock right away. She stood in front of the door for a moment, thinking. She had spent nearly a month doing thousands of research, trying desperately to save him from his nightmares of Hell, trying to find something that would truly and efficiently work, and she had kept all of these researches for herself.

She didn't tell him anything about it.

Not once.

She didn't think he needed to know.

Besides, she didn't want him to see how the solution against his nightmares seemed inexistent.

Strangely enough, it was now that she was standing in front of his door that she was realizing how it _did_ seem inexistent.

Castiel had helped the best he could by using his mojo to make sure Dean wouldn't get any hallucination of Hell. But the memories were still there, in the back of his mind. If Dean wanted to remember them, all he had to do was to dig them up by simply thinking about them. And when he fell asleep, even just for one minute, then he didn't need to do anything to remember them.

It was the memories that _remembered_ him.

They would come back to him.

Every single time.

That was why Kate spent the last few weeks trying to stop it all. At first she spent the days looking for some kind of spell that could truly wipe away some specific memories, and during the nights she watched Dean, making sure to wake him up whenever he would start fidgeting or groaning in pain, sadness, or fear. Kate ended up learning to notice the faintest signs and she would quickly react, relieving him from having to stay too long in a nightmare.

However, after some time it took a toll on her.

The young woman ended up catching back on her sleep during the days and researching during the nights while still being careful to watch over Dean as he slept. After some time, the elder Winchester took notice of it and so he decided to let her have her own room, claiming that he wanted to get some time with his brother before the latter grew jealous or whatever else. Kate let him do. She knew that Sam would watch over him just as much as she did.

But now that she was standing in front of Dean's room, she realized that she had it all wrong.

She had called Chuck earlier in the afternoon after her little talk with Sam.

She had called the bearded man because she wanted him to tell her that she would figure out a way to save Dean from his memories of Hell.

She had called him because she wanted him to give her the solution to fix it all.

But he gave her something else.

He told her what Sam told her as well.

" _Just be there for him."_

Kate bit on her bottom lip, closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nostrils as she was hit with realization.

As the weeks went by she spent more time doing research than actually being there for the man that she cared so much about.

" _Just be there for him."_

She freed her lip as she breathed out, opening her eyes.

Kate eventually knocked on the door, very lightly. She then turned the doorknob and luckily the door had been left unlocked, so she pushed it open and stepped in.

Her eyes first landed on Dean's federal jacket that was carelessly laying on the table. She saw a full and unopened bottle of whisky standing next to it and sighed.

The bathroom's door noisily opened behind her, causing her to spin around and see a surprised Dean standing there, holding a towel near his face.

"Kaitlin? H-how did you know I was here?" He asked, lowering the towel.

"You mean in this room?" She asked back. "Well, a little birdie told me. Actually, it's more like a very tall birdie who's really good at research, and who's worried about you."

"Sam," Dean sighed, throwing the towel on the edge of the bed.

"He's not the only one worried about you by the way," she admitted.

"I'm fine," Dean replied, pulling at his tie to take it off.

"Right," Kate declared with a beginning of sarcasm in her tone. "Because someone who's fine will totally punch Cupid in the face."

"He deserved it," Dean grumbled, tossing his tie away.

"He probably did," Kate replied. "But, what about you leaving Sam and I to take a taxi back to here on a night when taxis are pretty busy?" Dean looked away. "Or what about you secretly booking yourself in another room?"

Dean's gaze immediately snapped back to her as he was afraid she might think something about him preferring to have his own room. He quickly started defending himself, "About the room, that's not what you think –"

"I know," she interrupted him. "I know… But, I'm not here because of this, Dean. I-I'm here because of you. I'm here because I can see that you're not fine, no matter how much you wanna keep on claiming otherwise. And, I'm sorry, because I've been…" She paused. For a second she wanted to tell him that she had been working on finding a spell to help him, to _save_ him from his memories of Hell. But she didn't. "I've been so distracted lately that it took me some time to realize how so far from being fine you are."

"I'm fine," he insisted, although his voice wasn't convincing at all.

"Are you really gonna keep this up?" She softly sighed. "I'm not here to force you to speak if you don't want to. I'm here because I was there, with you, almost every night after what happened in Maryland – after what Maya did to you," she clarified, causing Dean to look up at her with surprised eyes. "Sam told me."

Dean looked at her, his green gaze roaming all over her face, and then he let out a breathy chuckle at the tenderness he saw in her features. He knew that she wouldn't let him get away; she cared too much. She always did. Since the beginning.

"I know that it's taking a toll on you," she continued, making one step towards him.

"It's not that," he sighed.

"Then what is it?" She asked, frowning as she watched him make his way to the king size bed.

He sat down on the side edge, next to the nightstand on which another bottle of whisky was settled – completely empty.

"I'm tired," he admitted in almost a murmur. "Heck, I'm _dead_ tired." He paused and sighed again as he brought his hand up to rub his eyelids with his fingertips. "I don't know. It's more than just these freakin' nightmares. It's…" He rubbed his hand down his face, his green gaze going for the empty bottle. He intensively stared at it. "I don't know if it's… This town, this case, or everything combined… But, I just… I'm tired, Kaitlin."

Kate quietly made her way to him, slipping her shoes off and taking her jacket off as she walked. She let the jacket fall on the floor as she approached Dean. He looked up at her, a little puzzled as she crouched down and took off his shoes. However, when their gazes met, he saw a warmth and softness in her chocolate brown orbs that silenced any question that was rising in his mind. She stood up and gently slid her hands along his arms up to his broad shoulders.

There was nothing sensual.

Everything was purely gentle.

"Then, let's rest," she softly whispered to him, her thumbs caressing his collar bones.

All Dean could do was to give a faint nod.

She then slid her hands off him as she gracefully climbed on the bed. Dean turned his upper body, his eyes glued to her as she was now sitting in a kneeling position in the middle of the bed.

He couldn't stop looking at her.

Especially not now that he was feeling _it_ coming back within him.

She once again reached for him, and slowly made him lay down on the bed with her. He automatically brought his feet up to the bed.

Never once did his green eyes look away from her.

They were now lying next to each other.

She was positioned on her left side while he was on his right side.

She looked down, reached for his hand and wrapped hers around.

He didn't say anything as he closed his fingers around hers.

It was strange how it seemed to fit perfectly.

But he didn't mention it.

He didn't say anything.

He didn't even know what to say.

He rarely knew what to say in these kind of moments that used to be inexistent before she landed in their universe.

 _Before she_ _ **chose**_ _to cross freaking universes for him._

 _For_ _ **him**_ _._

Dean brought his other arm around Kate and pulled her closer to him.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, closing his eyes as he felt _it_ bursting within him.

It seemed that _it_ had been gone for a while, but he knew that it wasn't the case.

That _feeling_ was never gone.

 _It_ was always here.

He had just pushed _it_ away for a while.

That soothing and so powerful peace she emitted.

He needed it so much.

He needed _her_ so much.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Dearest readers,**

 **I sincerely apologize for this extremely late update. Many things happened these past few months. It was a true roller coaster of good and bad surprises. I found myself truly busy, but I was still going to update earlier than tonight (or today depending on where you are)**

 **I was actually going to post this new chapter months ago. As a matter of fact, I've already written lots of chapters on a notebook, and all they need is to be typed on computer and edited a little bit depending on different things that I wanna change/add/get rid of.**

 **The real reason why I didn't post this new chapter earlier is that I received a few mails of 2 people who wanted to make sure I knew "my story is bad", "my original characters are pathetic", "my English is so bad they had headaches while trying reading it", and basically that "my writing sucks and I should stop wasting my time."**

 **When you're having a lot of things going on in your life (and the stress that goes with it) and you go home to find these messages sent to you, it is really not easy to ignore them. It gets to your mind; I know it did for me. It actually went to the point that I struggled when writing a few papers for University. I couldn't concentrate and I was always thinking that I was wasting my time when trying to discuss a subject or when trying to be a little more creative... So I just decided to take a break.**

 **Now that I'm at a better place, I decided to come back here and keep on writing this story for me, but especially for the people who have been loyal to my story and who have been encouraging me to keep on writing no matter how long it took me to update. Thank you for your kindness, you have no idea how much it means for me and how much it helps me to go back and read your sweet reviews or private messages.**

 **Thank you for everything and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter (even though it went a bit too cheesy at the end).**

 **Hopefully the next chapter will take just a couple of weeks to get posted; and if you remember the episode, it unfortunately gets sadder as it goes on… :/  
**

 **Also, I sincerely apologize for all the typos and mistakes, I didn't get this chapter betaread..**

 **Thank you again for reading my story and for all of your support!  
**

 **Take good care,**

 **A.**


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